Until the Sun Comes Up
by some blue december
Summary: She knows she can't get rid of one criminal without the help of another. Considering whose help she's seeking, she has to be willing to risk things in return. Sequel to "Like Causes Without Rebels" and "Edges in Between".
1. You're Lost

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "You're Lost Little Girl" by The Doors.

**A/N:** As usual, this story is set in the same universe as my others. It is a sequel to _Like Causes Without Rebels_ and _Edges in Between_. If you haven't read those, you probably won't know who a couple of these characters are.

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**CHAPTER ONE  
Saturday, July 3rd, 1971**

_I think that you know what to do_

Big eyes. That was what people saw when they looked at Josie. Not her pretty blonde hair, her smooth skin, or her beautiful smile. They saw her big eyes. Blue, clear, honest. She had always been a terrible liar because of those eyes, and, ever since she was a kid, one look into them could tell anyone how she was feeling.

But now they were different. Her eyes would always be blue, but they weren't so clear or honest anymore. No one could tell what she was feeling when they looked into her eyes, and she had become one hell of a liar what seemed to be overnight. Blue, clear, and honest had become blue, dazed, and insincere. She didn't even have the pretty blonde hair, smooth skin, or beautiful smile to make up for it.

She was a mess, and a part of Lucy Jane truly hated her for it.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at her dozing sister, she thought things through. She had the speech prepared, she had the money in her purse, all she needed was the right answer. One big, fat yes and she could very possibly live the rest of her life … happily. Or at least safe. And with her sister alive and well and _clean_.

Angry tears pricked at her eyes, and she stood and walked to the window. Okay, so maybe she needed more than the right answer. A new - or perhaps old and inconspicuous - car would come in handy, some clean clothes, and a weapon. She felt sick at the thought, but it was what it was, and what it was, was dangerous.

"Luce?"

She turned, walked over to Josie, and sat on the bed next to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful. Luce, please, I just need something -"

"No."

"Lucy, c'mon. Just this once, okay? And then, after today, we'll be -"

"No, Josie."

Josie's voice turned into a whine. "Luce Jane, why're you doin' this to me? Please, Luce, please help me out. Just this once." She reached out for Lucy Jane's hand, squeezing tight. "I just need something to get me through the day."

Lucy Jane stood. She just didn't get it. _Josie_ needed something to get her through the day … Josie wasn't the one leaving the safety of the hotel room, Josie wasn't the one heading into perilous territory, Josie wasn't the one who couldn't stop shaking out of sheer fear.

No, Josie shook for whole other reasons that Lucy Jane couldn't stand.

"I'm not getting you anything, Josie."

Josie's eyes turned mean, something Lucy Jane had never thought possible until this last year. "Bitch!" she spat. "You can't stop me, you know? I can get what ever I want, when ever I want it, and you know it."

"Don't threaten me."

"Not a threat, little sis. I'm not scared of him, you know, I -"

"Well, you should be!" She glared at Josie. "You should be damn near terrified of him, and you know it." She paused, continuing in a softer voice. "You saw what he did to Ruth."

"He wont do that to me; he loves me."

Lucy Jane's heart ached for her sister. "He doesn't love you."

"Yes he _does_!"

"If he loves you so much why're you black and blue, huh? Why do you have three broken fingers? Why do _I_ have bruises on my wrists?"

Josie's big eyes filled with tears. "Please, Lucy. I won't go to him, I swear. You just gotta give me something. Anything, Luce. _Please_."

Still shaking, Luce Jane stared down at Josie. She wanted to - oh how she wanted to just give in and let Josie shoot up, snort something, smoke a little weed - but she couldn't. Not just because she was trying to help, but there were literally no drugs left in the apartment. If she wasn't as strong as she was, she would use the money in her purse and get Josie something - just something to take the edge off.

But she wouldn't do that this time. This time things had gone too far and they needed out. She had spent almost a year trying to find a way to get Josie out of this mess, and now, after this last week, she didn't have the forgiving nature she'd had previously. Josie had used up her stash, and Lucy Jane wouldn't let her talk her into anything, no matter how hard she tried.

And, anyway, she knew that Josie wanted out of this just as much. Maybe not right then, not when the cramps were setting in and she _just_ _needed_ _something_, but later. Later she would remember their plan, know it was the right thing to do, be glad Lucy Jane had stopped giving into her.

She took a step back. "I'm sorry, Josie. I _can__'__t_."

Josie's whole body twisted into the sagging mattress as she began to scream. "Lucy Jane, you fucking whore! Just give me something, _please_. Stop being such a little _bitch_, and help me. I need you to help me."

"Shit." Lucy Jane couldn't stand it. She turned away from her sister, subtly unplugged the phone from the wall, and grabbed her keys. She didn't say anything to Josie as she left - not that Josie would have heard her over her own screams - she just grabbed her bag and left, locking the door securely behind her.

She stopped at the front office, ignoring the way the pervert behind the counter eyed her breasts as she slipped him a twenty not to let anyone but her upstairs. He promised, but she wasn't sure how much she believed him.

She couldn't stick around and make sure, though. She had been planning this for the last week, and she wasn't going to let anything get in the way. Not her sister's begging, not some creepy hotel manager, and definitely not the chance of being recognised in the blue car she'd hidden away a few days ago.

First stop, the car for sale at the diner down the street.

XXXXX

Curly sighed, stretched, and grinned in a gorgeous-broad-just-got-me-off kind of way. Glancing down, he reached out a hand and buried it in Maria Phillips' hair as she made her way to his eye level. And she _was_ gorgeous. Gorgeous and smart and too fucking good for him. Or so her brother liked to tell him.

But somehow, despite knowing that Henry joking whenever he said it, Curly believed it. Maria was too good for him. She was a nurse at the hospital, she was so fucking kind it made his heart ache, and she could have any damn guy she wanted. And she claimed to want him.

Occasionally, she even claimed to love him. That only came out every now and then, and without any real feeling to it, so he wasn't sure how much he believed it, but it sure was nice to hear it again.

"Fuck you're beautiful," he told her, pulling her close.

She smiled, kissed him quickly, then climbed off his bed. "And you are way too distracting. I should've left half an hour ago."

"Why?"

"Work."

"Stay."

She laughed. "I can't."

"You could, you know? I'll just call in sick, and you can do the same. I mean, they ain't gonna want a sick person workin' on sick people, are they."

"Probably not."

He reached out, plucking at the underwear she had just put on. "So, stay."

She paused, thinking about it and he hoped like hell she said yes. He'd had a shitty night, and the last thing he wanted was her leaving so early in the morning. He wanted her to stay. He wanted to spend the day in bed with her. He wanted to fuck her again.

He pretended wanting company had nothing to do with it.

"I really can't," she finally said. "Baby, I want to, you know I do, but I gotta go to work. I promised to work a double shift."

He dropped his hand. "Yeah, whatever."

"I'll come back tomorrow. If you want me to."

"Fine."

"I'll wear that dress you like."

"Uh-huh."

He was sulking and he knew it. Hell, he thought he would've grown out of that shit by now, but it really had been one hell of a night that he just wanted to forget about. Yelling, screaming, punches thrown … used to be just a normal night, but he'd gotten used to things being calm and quiet lately. He hated what last night had done. He had his first black eye in over a year.

"Baby, stop feeling sorry for yourself," Maria said. "I know last night turned to shit - believe me, I do - but it ain't the end of the world."

"That's easy for you to say."

"And, if you'll remember, it's also easy for me to help you forget about it."

He smirked; she had a point there. There was this one thing she did with her tongue -

"So stop sulking, and try to relax." She leaned over him, fully dressed but giving him a decent view down her blouse. "I'll be back tonight, and if you still feel like crap, I'll do my very best to make you feel better."

He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her on top of him. "You're a real good girlfriend, you know that?"

"I've heard it here and there."

He kissed her, long and deep and maybe a little bit desperate, until she pulled back. She gave him one last smile with those pretty lips of hers as she picked up her shoes and headed out the door. And he missed her immediately.

Climbing out of bed, he threw on some boxers and jeans, and made his way into the kitchen. George was there, can of beer already open in front of him.

"Bit early for that, ain't it?"

"Never too early. Not after a night like last night."

Curly cringed, not wanting to think about that again. "You seein' Emmy today?"

"Nah, she still won't talk to me."

"You figure out why yet?"

George gave a cynical chuckle. "Who the fuck knows, man? One minute we're happy as fuck, the next … I don't even know."

"Sorry, man."

"Ain't your fault."

Except maybe it was. He didn't tell George that, but there was a chance he might have caused whatever it was that was between George and Emmy. Drunk, bitter, and dreading what he knew would happen two nights later, he might have said some shit he shouldn't have. Shit about rich girls and poor guys and relationships that just aren't meant to be.

He didn't mean to, it had just kind of spilled out of him. Because every now and then, he got like that. Memories would become far too real, and he would hurt like it had all happened just yesterday. And then, instead of being a fucking man and getting over it, he would drink and get bitter and say shit he shouldn't say. Shit he especially shouldn't say in front of Emmy. She was a good girl, a nice girl, George's girl.

Now, because of his own stupid problems, he had caused problems for George. Some best friend he fucking was. Hell, he had caused problems for the both of them; Emmy was his friend, too.

"You want me to talk to her? Maybe she'll tell me something?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. Whatever it is, she'll get over it. And if she don't, then I guess it ain't meant to be, you know?"

Curly nodded, hating himself more and more every second. He didn't know what his problem was, why he couldn't just be happy. He had a great girl, was sometimes sharing an apartment with his best friend when said best friend actually decided to come home, and had a pretty decent paying job. Life was good. But he felt like shit. Not all the time, but a lot of the time, and he hated it.

Sometimes he thought he might be jealous. Jealous of George and Emmy and everything they had that had been taken away from him. He should be over it, but it just didn't seem fair to him that they came out on top of all the shit that he'd had to go through. Hell, they hadn't even had to go through any of the shit he'd had to go through. By the time they got together, school was out, and people just didn't care how much money Emmy had or George didn't have.

Not the people who mattered, anyway. Her parents had kicked up a fuss about it for a while, but when they realised Emmy was going to stand her ground, they had accepted it. The fact that George already worked for her dad's contracting business, and was someone Mr. Banks liked, definitely helped.

And Curly hadn't had any of that. All he'd had was a brother who wanted to control his fucking life.

Heading to the fridge, he grabbed out his own can of beer. The last year had been pretty fucking good. Occasional bitter memories that led him to drinking himself into a stupor, but that was it. Now everything had changed again. Now he had messed things up for two people who actually cared about him. Now he was back to yelling and screaming and fighting.

Now Tim was out after his year-long stint in prison, and Curly's life was back to shit again.

XXXXX

Not for the first time, she wished she still had her Thunderbird. It held a lot of memories, that car - nights cruising the Ribbon with Emmy, all kinds of trips to the park with Harry, and cautiously driving down dirt roads she probably should have never driven down.

Now she had an old Buick. She didn't know what year it was, what exact make, or even for certain that it was a Buick. It was dull green, it was old, and she was pretty sure the cook at the diner she'd bought it from had said it was a Buick. That same guy had completely ripped her off, too. She might not know what the car was worth, but she knew it was a piece of crap and definitely not worth what she paid.

It even drove like crap. Again, she thought of the car hidden at the lake - that had driven like a dream.

Cringing at the grinding noise as she tried to shove it into second, she slowed down and pulled up outside the apartment block. It was still early - possibly too early for some - but that was a good thing. No one she knew would be up and about at this time of day, and it was the perfect time to get the information she needed.

Keys in hand, she adjusted her sunglasses, and checked the rear-view mirror. No one was following her. So far. She huffed out a breath as she climbed out of the car, really wishing she was exaggerating the shit she was in. Being followed a little after 8am just sounded crazy, but so did everything else in her life lately.

The summer day was already hot as she made her way toward the door, and she hoped like hell it let up soon. She didn't know how much sitting around, waiting, and begging she would have to do, and the last thing she wanted was to do it in the heat they'd had the last few days.

But she would. She had to. Her life might very well literally depend on it.

The guy she bought the car from might have ripped her off, but at least he was nice about it. Even offered her a cup of freshly brewed coffee that she really wished she'd had the time for. Instead, she had asked to see his phonebook and borrow a pen. There were too many Banks' in the phonebook, but she knew how to find the right Mr and Mrs, and through them, their daughter.

Up three flights of stairs, and she was outside 15A. And feeling a little sick, without even knowing why. Emmy was her best friend … at least, she had been. After not hearing from Lucy Jane for nearly a year, that might have changed. The fact that Lucy Jane wouldn't be willing to give any explanation as to why she hadn't kept in contact wouldn't help matters, but it was for Emmy's own good.

Summoning up all the courage she had, she knocked. The door opened after only a few seconds, and Emmy's excited face fell at the sight of her. Lucy Jane couldn't help it; it hurt a little.

"Lucy Jane."

"Hey."

"I thought … sorry. I guess I thought you might be someone else."

"Oh. Uh, sorry."

Emmy frowned for a long moment, before finally asking, "What are you doing here?"

And this was where she cemented her role as worst best friend ever. "I kind of need your help."

"Oh." Emmy looked hurt, and Lucy Jane hated herself for it. "You came here for _help_? Not to see me, or catch up, or apologise for not calling or writing or visiting in forever?"

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you sure sound it, too. Look, Lucy Jane, this really isn't a good time, okay? I've got enough problems going on without whatever it is you need help with."

She began to shut the door, and Lucy Jane's heart thudded. "Wait! _Please_."

It was a really long moment before Emmy opened the door again. Lucy Jane sighed in relief. There was no one else she could go to right now, and as much as she truly hated using Emmy, she had to. She was the only person who could help her. Hell, Lucy Jane wasn't even sure Emmy would be able to help, but she was the only hope she had.

"I _am_ sorry. Really. I know I became a terrible friend when I stopped calling and writing, but I …"

"You what?"

She couldn't explain, that's what. "There was just some stuff going on …" she tried, lamely.

"Everyone has stuff going on, Luce. I had all that stuff going on with Simon and George, and I still managed to keep in contact."

"I know."

"But you just … after a year away, when I expected you to come home for the summer … _disappeared_."

"I know."

"I asked your parents," Emmy continued, "but they wouldn't tell me anything. Just not to worry, and that you were safe."

Safe. Right.

"Emmy, I am sorry, I swear. But I - I can't tell you what's been going on, I just _can__'__t_."

"But you still expect my help."

"It's not much," Lucy Jane insisted. "Just an address."

Emmy gave her a look, as though she already knew whose address she was about to ask for. She didn't. She had no idea.

"Whose address?"

She wiped her hands on her shorts. "Tim Shepard's. I need Tim Shepard's address."

_Impossible? Yes, but it__'__s true._

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading, and, as usual, thanks to Sam.


	2. Can't Go Back

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "The World We Live In" by The Killers.

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**CHAPTER TWO**

_Well maybe I was mistaken,  
__I heard a rumour that you quit this day and age_

Curly left a depressed George in the apartment and made his way downstairs, feeling sick and guilty and like absolute shit. He needed to tell George what he had said to Emmy. He needed to fix that wrong. He needed to apologise … something he wasn't all that good at.

But first, he had to go to work. He didn't want to - he kind of hated his job - but when it was the only option going up against meeting Tim at Buck's, it didn't seem so bad. He'd much rather be working on cars than lugging car parts through a junk yard, but he'd take what he could get. A few years at this might get him a job at some garage downtown.

If he made it a few years. With Tim back, it seemed unlikely. He didn't know what kind of shit his brother would try and get them all into next. Electronics, weapons, drugs - he didn't have a fucking clue. And he didn't really want to know, either. He was sick of trying not to get arrested, sick of doing stupid shit for no good reason, sick of answering to Tim.

Especially sick of answering to Tim.

He'd gone the last year without doing anything gang-related, and he wanted to keep living that way. Gangs were out, and Tim needed to realise that. He never thought he would think that way, but the peace had been nice, and he didn't much fancy going back to the way things used to be.

Pulling out of the underground parking, he headed toward work. Maybe he could get out of the gang - or what was left of it. Just tell Tim he wasn't interested anymore, and maybe Tim would get it. Maybe he would be okay with it. Seemed unlikely; no one just got out of being in Tim's gang. And, considering he was Tim's brother, it was even more unlikely he'd ever be free. But he supposed he ought to try. No harm, right?

Wrong. Tim wouldn't think twice about kicking Curly's head in if he tried for an out.

Things hadn't been too bad after the Lucy Jane stuff. Tim still figured Curly had chosen the gang over the girl - he didn't know Curly had changed his mind and gone crawling back to Lucy Jane the very next night, nor did he need to - and because of that, things had gone okay. Tim assuming he still had Curly under his thumb, mixed with Curly's calm disinterest, had somehow made things smooth for a while. No arguing, no bitching, no disagreements at all.

It hadn't taken long for Curly to fall back into Tim's trap, though, and after a few months of just not giving a shit, he'd been doing those same jobs for Tim all over again. Stealing, fighting, slashing tires … and he was so fucking sick of it. It had been over a year, Tim had only been out one night, but he was already sick of it.

He wanted the easiness this last year had brought, he wanted to hang out with his girl without the worry of being called away, he wanted to have a fucking life that didn't revolve around a bunch of guys.

He wanted this brown Chrysler to stop following him …

Frowning, he glanced in his rear-view mirror again, wondering if he really was being followed, or if he was just paranoid because, now that Tim was back, shit was sure to hit the fan. It could be either, and he wouldn't be surprised no matter which it was. He tapped his thumb against the steering wheel, and tried to get a better look at who was in the car. He couldn't see a damn thing.

Jerking the wheel to the left, he made an unexpected turn into a deserted side street, just to see if the Chrysler followed. It did. So quickly it looked as though the turn had been unexpected for them, too. Curly sighed, hating this bullshit. Whoever it was, if they were following him, they were quick, that was for sure. Tim hadn't been out twenty-four hours, and already he had enemies itching to get to him.

Curly took it slow around the next few corners, not wanting whoever was behind him to realise that he knew they were following him. But they had to be; no one took this messed up, back and forward route, even if they were lost. He'd gone down the same street three times now, crossed another street twice, and was one street away from work. He had to either deal with it and go to work, or be late and try to get rid of these guys.

Eyes narrowed, he turned the corner and headed toward work. Another look in the rear-view mirror showed no one behind him, and he sighed. Maybe someone was just lost. It was possible. But, even as he thought it, he doubted it. Someone had been following him. He would probably never know who, but he sure hated it.

Most of all, he hated Tim.

XXXXX

Emmy stared at Lucy Jane for a long moment before answering. "Tim Shepard?"

"Yes."

The stunned silence was expected, and Lucy Jane waited it out. She didn't expect anything from Emmy, not really. She sure hoped her friend would help her out, but she didn't expect her to. Not after the last year. But, really, all she needed was an address. Surely that wasn't such a big thing to ask for.

Emmy opened the door wider to let Lucy Jane in. She stepped over the threshold and stood awkwardly in Emmy's apartment. Maybe a little jealous. She should have a place like this, with nice furniture and pictures of herself and her boyfriend. Instead, she had Josie and a dingy hotel and no boyfriend.

She looked at a photograph of Emmy and George, a twinge going through her that was definitely at least related to jealousy. Biting her lower lip, she turned to face Emmy.

Emmy frowned at her. "Is this about Curly?"

She couldn't even blame her for asking; for a while there, everything had been about Curly. Even months after their break-up, everything had still been about Curly. She shook her head. "It's not about him, I swear."

"Then what is this about? Why on earth are _you_ asking for Tim Shepard's address?"

"I just - I just am."

"But you hate him! He made Curly to dump you in high school, remember? It's pretty much his fault all that mess happened."

Lucy Jane wasn't sure about that. Sometimes she blamed Tim for making Curly choose, sometimes she blamed Curly for choosing Tim, and sometimes she blamed herself for too many reasons to list.

"That's not important anymore," she said. "Please, Emmy, I know I've been terrible this last year, but I really need your help here."

"Do your parents know you're in town?"

"No."

"So you haven't even seen Harry?"

Her heart clenched at his name because, Christ, she missed that boy. She pushed him out of her mind; not thinking about him was easier - plain and simple. "No."

"Are you going to tell them you're home?"

"Shit, Emmy. Are you going to stop changing the damn subject?"

Emmy's eyes widened, and Lucy Jane let out a low breath; apparently Emmy could date a hood, but hearing her best friend curse was too much. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes and tell Emmy some of the things she had seen this last year, the things that'd had _her_ eyes widening, she wiped her hands on her shorts. It wouldn't do any good to make fun of Emmy. Not only that, but, up until a year ago, those words had very rarely come out of Lucy Jane's mouth.

"Look, I'm sorry," she said. "I just really need some help."

"You've changed." Emmy sounded surprised when she said it, and somewhat impressed.

Lucy Jane shrugged, and they were both silent for a few moments. She looked at the picture of Emmy and George again, wondering when it was taken, who took it, how it was they could be so happy in it.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Not exactly."

"But that is why you need Tim's address, right. Because you need his help?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"But you won't tell me what this is all about." Not a question; Emmy was just stating facts.

Lucy Jane met her gaze again. "I've already said it too many times for it to still mean something, but I am sorry. For a lot of things."

Emmy's eyes flashed. "Curly has a girlfriend," she said, almost as if she wanted to hurt Lucy Jane.

Her chest ached a little, but she couldn't tell if it was because of Emmy's intention to hurt her, or Emmy's words themselves. She suspected it was a little of both. Emmy had been her best friend for years, after all, and Curly was … well, Curly was Curly.

Her entire relationship with him had been a mess, but there had been something special there, too. Something real. She missed him sometimes. Only those times late at night, or really early in the morning, when she could allow herself to think like that. When things were so bad that thinking of Harry or college or her relationship with Curly made life hurt a little less. Times when she was so scared out of her mind for herself and her sister, that remembering had to be okay, that remembering was all she had.

"I'm sorry," Emmy said. "I should've said that."

"I didn't exactly expect him to sit around and pine for me." At least that was true.

"But I still shouldn't have said that. It was rude and inconsiderate."

"It doesn't matter." And it really didn't. Curly would always be an important part of her past, but that was it. He was her past, Josie was her present, and she might not even have a future. She had accepted all of that, and Curly having a girlfriend was just life. He had moved on, and she wished she'd had the chance to do the same. "I'm not here for Curly, okay? I just need Tim's help with something really small."

She wished Emmy would just hurry up and agree already. This whole conversation was weird and awkward and uncomfortable. They hadn't spoken in over a year, Curly was not her concern, and she didn't even know Tim Shepard. Saying his name, calling him _Tim_, was unfamiliar, like she was talking far too warmly about a stranger.

"Please, Emmy."

She finally nodded. "Okay. I don't know exactly where he is - he just got out of prison last night, so you've got pretty good timing - but I'll try find out." She went to the kitchen where she kept the phone, and started dialling.

A sigh of relief fell from Lucy Jane's lips, and she sagged against the back of the couch behind her. He had just gotten out of prison the night before - that _was_ good timing, and she hated to think what would have happened had she tried to do this a month ago, a week ago, two days ago! Of course, being let out just yesterday might make him less willing to help her, but she'd figure that out if it happened.

Emmy was talking quietly on the phone, and when she finally said goodbye and hung up, she turned to Lucy Jane. "He's crashing a few nights with Joey Hanson. I couldn't get an exact address, but it's on East King Street, over by the playground. Blue house, with a tire swing outside."

Lucy Jane fixed that to memory. "Thank, Emmy. I really appreciate it."

"Sure."

Not sure what else to say, she made her way to the door. Some kind of goodbye was probably in order, but she couldn't think of one. She didn't know what would happen in the next twenty-four hours. For all she knew, life could be great tomorrow, and her friendship could be getting back on track with Emmy.

Then again, for all she knew, she could be dead before nightfall.

"Can I tell anyone you're here?" Emmy asked, opening the door for her.

Lucy Jane smirked. "Who would you tell? My parents? Because I can tell you now, they won't care."

"Curly."

"I … no."

"No?"

Why the hell would Emmy want to tell Curly? Why the hell would she think Lucy Jane would be okay with it? Why the hell would Curly even care? She shook her head. No, she definitely wasn't okay with that. "He doesn't need to know."

"Okay."

"You swear you won't say anything?"

Emmy didn't bother holding back like Lucy Jane had minutes earlier. She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. "Yes, Luce, I swear."

"East King Street, by the playground, blue house with a tire swing out front, right?"

"That's it."

"Okay, thanks." Lucy Jane left before Emmy could bring up her parents or Curly or whatever trouble she was in again.

XXXXX

"Christ, Shepard, what the hell happened to you?"

Curly, heaving a car door out of a pile of rubble, just shrugged. "Whaddya talkin' about?"

His boss, Jock, grabbed hold of the sleeve of his T-shirt, and made Curly face him. "Someone rough you up, kid?"

"Yeah, somethin' like that?"

Jock looked at him for a good, long minute, and Curly did his best not to fidget under his boss' stare. Jock had a son once. The boy died when he was seven in some boating incident. Curly didn't know the full story, only that it had happened, and that the kid would be his age now. He figured it was why Jock treated him so well, knowing full well that Curly didn't much like his job.

"You in some kinda trouble?"

"No, sir."

"You sure about that? You need me to take care of somethin' for ya?"

Having boxed his whole life, Jock was sixty and in fucking good shape. At Al's bar downtown one night, Curly had seen him throw out a nineteen-year-old guy who had been getting a little too fresh with Jock's niece. Even after a year in jail, Tim wouldn't come close to measuring up against Jock.

He shook his head. "It ain't nothin' I can't handle."

Jock stared at him for a long minute, and Curly knew he didn't believe him. "Okay," he finally said. "Listen, we just got a call. Some guy says there's been a car parked outside his house the last two days - smashed windows, broken lights, probably had everything stolen out of it. You up for it?"

Curly nodded and Jock handed him the keys for the tow truck.

"Listen, kid," he said, before Curly could get away, "if someone's bothering ya -"

"It's nothing. Just got into a fight, is all."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He forced a grin. "You know what older brothers are like."

He took off before Jock could saying anything else, and jumped into the tow truck. As he pulled out of the junk yard, he thought about his fight with Tim. It had come from nothing - no argument leading up to it, no pissy attitudes making things tense, and no unhappiness at seeing each other. Curly hadn't been looking forward to Tim getting out and things going back to how they used to be, but he was still happy to see his brother.

At least until Tim had started flirting with Maria. Maria, being the sweet girl she was, hadn't thought anything of it. Curly knew better. Tim might not have been trying to purposely piss Curly off by flirting with his girl, but he was trying to fuck his girl. He had no doubt about that, and there was no way he was going to let that happen.

There had been no chance of it happening, even before the fight. That's what Maria told him, anyway. Panting from his fight with Tim, scowling at the fool he'd made of himself, and sulking that he still couldn't beat his brother at anything, Maria had wrapped her arms around his neck, pressed her body against his, and done that thing where she said she loved him.

"It's _you_ I love, baby," she said. "Not your brother."

They had gone back to his apartment, and she had taken his mind off Tim for hours.

Taking the next left, he saw the car immediately, but frowned. Smashed windows, broken lights, just like Jock had said. But no houses around for it to be parked in front of. Even as he thought it, and climbed out of the truck, he knew in the back of his mind what was going on. The call had been a fake, someone had set him up, probably those same guys in the Chrysler -

That's as far as he got before something hit him in the back of the head.

"Fuck," he breathed, falling to his knees. His hands automatically went to the back of his head, feeling for blood and finding more than he liked. "What the hell?"

He looked up, wishing he at least had an idea as to who to expect. It took a moment for his vision to clear, and when it did, he grinned. A crazy, go-ahead-and-fuck-with-me grin. The same grin he gave the fuckers four years ago in juvie.

"Thought someone would've knocked you two off by now," he said. He was a fucking idiot and he knew it, but with these two, he just couldn't help himself. They were so stupid, that he came across as smart even when he acted like an idiot.

"Could say the same about you," Leon said, leaning down to stare at him.

"That what you here for? Takin' out Tim's little brother _is_ a good idea. Not too original, though."

Bull flipped the spanner in his hands, and Curly chose not to look at the blood on it. "Ya know, for once, this ain't about Tim."

"Then who?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Like you don't know."

"Yeah, I really don't."

"Bullshit," Leon said, and punched him in the mouth. "You think we're stupid, huh?"

Curly coughed. "Well, yeah, but I still don't know what the fuck yous are talkin' about."

"Just do yourself a favour, and stay the fuck away from her," Bull said. "Stay away from her, keep your hands off what she's got, and you might be able to keep both yourself and your brother alive."

_Her_? He had no idea who the fuck they were talking about.

Before Curly could answer, Bull whacked him on the side of the head with the spanner again, knocking him out cold.

_Bless your body, bless your soul,  
__Pray for peace and self-control._

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to all who reviewed, and Happy Birthday to Sam, my fantastic beta, and even more wonderful friend.


	3. Looks Like Up to Me

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Been Down so Long" by The Doors.

* * *

**C****HAPTER THREE**

_Yeah, come along here, mister,  
__Come on and let the poor boy be._

He felt like he was fifteen again. Fifteen, in juvie, beaten up by a couple of River Kings. But he wasn't fifteen. He was twenty, no longer in juvie, but still beaten up by a couple of fucking River Kings. The same two fucking River Kings as last time. He wasn't sure if that was just bad luck, or utter stupidity on his part.

Standing from where he'd been left next to the tow truck, he decided to go with stupidity. He'd been followed to work, there wasn't a house in sight, and he'd known something was up even as he climbed out of the truck. But he'd done it anyway, because Tim from two years ago was right; he was stupid.

And his head hurt.

Lifting a hand, he felt the back of it and found it wet. He couldn't tell if it was still bleeding, but it hurt like hell, and he could feel wet blood on the side of his face, too. He looked at his hand, feeling a little sick at the crimson staining his fingers, and decided he needed to get out of there. If he could just find his keys …

His keys were gone. His keys were gone, and his truck was locked. The only way back to work was to walk. It wasn't long, only a couple of blocks, but in this heat and with that head wound, just the idea of it made him dizzy. He steadied himself on the side of the truck for a few minutes, wishing he had some water.

Eventually, he found his legs. One foot after another, he made his way down the street, making a couple of wrong turns, but quickly realising and turning back the other way.

"Christ,' he muttered. Bull must have really hit him hard.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he quickened his pace, feeling a little better. He thought back to Bull and Leon jumping him - the fact that he had thought he was through with that bullshit not escaping him - and what they had said. He didn't remember much - it was all kind of a blur of words and pain and bloody spanners - but he did remember a little.

It wasn't about Tim. Maybe the fact that he had been jumped for the first time since high school wasn't even Tim's fault. It seemed odd to him that something like this _wasn__'__t_ Tim's fault, but Bull had said it himself. And then he'd said _her_, which meant it wasn't even Curly's fault. A lazy smirk fell to his lips; he couldn't remember the last time he had been in a fight that wasn't at least partly his or Tim's fault. Or both.

But this was because of her, and the only hers in his life were Maria and Angel. And he knew it wasn't Angel.

Maria's brother was in the gang, she had grown up around the guys in the gang, her ex-boyfriends were either in the gang or had some kind of loyalty to Tim. She wouldn't go behind any of their backs to be with a River King, he just knew it. If her loyalty to him and Tim weren't enough to make him sure of that, her loyalty to her brother was.

The only person she might choose over Curly, Tim, or even Henry was Scott Travis. Travis was serving a couple of years down at McAllister for armed robbery. They hadn't been together when he got locked up, but Curly knew Maria well enough to know that she hadn't been over her high school boyfriend when he went away.

But Travis was okay. Not Curly's favourite guy, but not in with the River Kings. Then again, it had been a year since Curly had bothered to know who was in with whom. Travis might be right up in there, for all he knew.

Wiping sweat from his brow, he turned into the junk yard. Jock was on him immediately, asking what happened, was he okay, did he need an ambulance? Curly just shook his head and apologised for not having the keys to the truck. Frowning at him, Jock shook his head and led him over to his car.

"You might need stiches, kid. How about we go see that girl of yours? Get her to clean ya up a bit?"

Curly nodded. Maria and the River Kings just didn't mix, but the idea of seeing her sure was nice.

XXXXX

She never would have admitted it to Emmy, but Lucy Jane was pretty damn glad she didn't have to go to the Shepard house to find Tim. Curly was the past, but she didn't exactly want to be reminded of him. Not now, when her mind had to stay on Josie and getting out of this mess they were in.

She found it a strange comfort that, despite Tim being Curly's brother and Curly being her ex-boyfriend, she had no real memories of the guy. She knew of him, knew all kinds of things about him, and kind of hated him, but she didn't know him. She had never met him, never spent time with him, never seen more than an outline of him in the pouring rain one afternoon. And that was good, because the only time she _might_ have seen him, was when she was with Curly.

Staring at the house across the road, she forced herself to get out of the car and cross the street. Nothing was ever going to happen if she sat in that crappy car, putting this whole thing off. She had to be strong. She _used_ to be strong, and there was no reason she couldn't be now.

She jogged across the road, side-stepped a spade and bucket on the front lawn, and headed for the front door. And stopped, because apparently she wasn't strong like she used to be, but she already knew that. Forcing back those same angry tears that had pricked her eyes earlier that morning, she forced herself to knock.

Someone opened the door a few moments later, and having steeled herself to be face-to-face with Tim Shepard, she was surprised to see a girl only a few years older than herself, holding a kid in her arms. She looked at the other girl, wondering if this was Tim's girlfriend.

"Can I help you?"

"Um, yes. I, uh, I was looking for Tim Shepard."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Goddamn him. I told him he ain't to bring any girls here if he wants to stay. This ain't some dingy motel; I've got a kid, who really doesn't need to -"

"Oh, no!" Lucy Jane waved her hands frantically. "I'm not here for that, I swear!"

"They why are ya here?"

"I just want to talk to him about somethin'."

"What's your name?"

"I'd rather not say."

"And why not?"

Lucy Jane sighed. This girl, whoever she was, was the person who was either going to let her see Tim, or not let her see Tim. She figured she might as well be honest. "If he knows who I am, I don't think he'll want to see me."

The other girl laughed. "Sounds like just the kinda person I want to let into see him. I'm thinkin' if I piss him off enough, he might find some other place to live." She grinned. "I'm Evie. You don't hafta tell me your name, but do you wanna come in?"

She shook her head. Going inside had never been part of the plan. A part of her truly believed Tim would help her, so if there was someone watching her, they would know about Tim no matter what. She didn't want them knowing about Evie. She was nice. And she had a kid. Lucy Jane wanted to keep her out of this as much as she could.

Evie nodded. "Okay. Well you just wait right there, and I'll go get him."

"Thank you."

The door closed behind Evie, and Lucy Jane turned to face the road. What she really wanted was to stay as out of sight as possible, but there wasn't much chance of that happening. She supposed it didn't matter too much - the chance that they had already found her seemed unlikely.

She turned back around as the front door opened, and her breath caught in her throat. For a second - one really quick, heart-wrenching second - she thought it was Curly, and she ached. But it wasn't him. As Tim stepped out from the shadow of the doorway, she could see quite clearly that it wasn't him.

Tim had a long scar on the left side of his face, he looked older than Curly ever had, and his eyes … they were just different. There had always been something in Curly's eyes, something that made her all warm and giddy on the inside, but it was missing in Tim's eyes. His were just cold and empty and mean-looking.

He frowned at her, glanced around the street, then stepped outside. The door closed behind him. "Yeah?"

She fought a smirk, wondering if that was how he treated all the girls who turned up at his door. Evie had thought she was there for, well, something she definitely wasn't, but Tim didn't seem to be under that impression at all. She took a deep breath, and opened her mouth, ready to beg if she had to.

And nothing came out. She didn't know what to say, how to say it, if she even could say it. She closed her mouth, licked her dry lips, and tried again.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Uh, you don't know me, do you?"

He gave her a once over and smirked. "Should I?"

She considered that. "Well, no, probably not. I mean, it would make sense that you don't know me by sight. I didn't know what you looked like until now, after all."

And he looked oh-so much like Curly. Tim didn't say anything, but Lucy Jane didn't feel uncomfortable in the silence. Somehow, knowing that he didn't know who she was made this easier. Of course, that couldn't last if she wanted his help, and telling him her name had to be next.

"So," he said, "who are ya?"

She almost laughed. Instead, she met his gaze dead on. "My name's Lucy Jane."

"Lucy Jane." He was silent a moment. There was no expression on his face, no hint of recognition, but she could almost see the gears turning in his head, almost see him wondering if it was possible, if she could be that same Lucy Jane. Well, of course she was. How many Lucy Janes were there?

"Yeah. Lucy Jane Cooper."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"You remember me, right?"

"Little rich girl who enjoyed slumming it with my brother for a while there, right?"

"Something like that."

"Looks like you fell from grace a little bit, kid."

Self-conscious, she glanced down at herself. Sure, her clothes were rumpled from being hand washed and hung up to dry in a bathroom, her face was completely free of make-up, and her hair hadn't had a decent cut in over a year. She definitely wasn't the girl who had enjoyed slumming it with Tim's brother for a while there.

She looked back at Tim. "Don't you want to know why I came here?"

"Nah, I'm pretty happy just knowin' you don't seem to have shit no more. What happened? Daddy lose his job? Make a bad deal? Get caught with the secretary and lose everything?"

She ignored the mention of her dad. After Emmy bringing up her parents - and _Harry_ - they had been right there, at the back of her mind, since. Not thinking about them was becoming hard.

"Actually my parents are still as wealthy as ever." Probably not the best thing to say.

"Then what's with the look? You decide to run away from home?"

"Kinda."

He chuckled. "And you came here?"

"Of course not. For your information, I haven't been home in over a year."

"That's fascinating."

"I came here for help," she said. There was no more point in beating around the bush. "Your help."

"No way. If you wanna see Curly, you can do that without -"

"It's not about him," she said, second time in as many hours.

"What is it then?"

That's where it got hard. Admitting the things Josie was doing, the things Lucy Jane had seen, the people involved … she wasn't sure she could actually do it. Not only were they things she could barely bring herself to think about, but naming names was a big deal. Some names shouldn't be spoken aloud, and doing it could get both her and Tim into a lot of trouble.

"Can't help ya if you don't tell me, kid."

She swallowed. "It's my sister. She's … uh, she's got a problem. With drugs."

"Ain't my concern."

"I know. I don't expect you to help me with that, I can do that alone." At least, she hoped she could. "My problem - my _real_ problem - is with her … dealer, I guess. He's, well, he's dangerous."

"How dangerous?"

"Really dangerous."

"Gonna have to be more specific than that."

That's what she was afraid of.

"Well, he's got a lot of weapons, and people working for him, and I know he's been to jail a few times." She looked at Tim, who was looking at her like she was an idiot. She was _talking_ to someone who had weapons, and people working for him, and had been to jail a few times. "Plus he …"

"He what?"

She couldn't say it, just couldn't get the words out. Looking at him, she tried to put off the inevitable by asking something she was truly curious about.

"Why are you even listening? You know who I am. Surely you remember how much trouble I got Curly into back in high school."

"'Course I do."

"So why are you listening? Are you just humouring me? Is that it?"

He shrugged. "I can go back in if ya want." He actually turned, and somehow she just knew he wasn't bluffing.

"Wait!"

He turned. "Yeah?"

"Please don't go in. I really do need your help." That's right; she had been willing to beg.

"_That__'__s_ why I'm still out here, kid. Sheer curiosity. You gotta be in one hell of a mess to come to me." He was taking far too much pleasure in this, she was sure of it. She fought the urge to glare at him as he towered over her.

"My sister, she thinks she's in love with him, but all he's done is hurt her. Hurt us. And I'm not just talking about getting her hooked on drugs." She paused, wiped her hands on her shorts. "He's beat her up a lot. Just last week, in fact, he hurt her so bad she hasn't been able to see out of one eye since. He punched her and kicked her and broke three of her fingers, and had some guy holding me back so I couldn't even _try_ to help her."

She paused, holding up her arms for him to see the faded blue-green marks around her wrists. He barely glanced at her arms, and didn't say a word. He was looking completely impassive, but she continued anyway.

"Four times he's gotten her high and let other guys have sex with her. I know her, I know she'd never want that, but she was always too far gone to do anything about it - far too willing to keep him happy to complain."

Finally some emotion, not much, but a flicker of a frown had to be something. And what she had told him wasn't even all of it. He stepped down from the small front porch.

"All this is true?"

A lump formed in her throat. "I wouldn't lie about this."

He was silent for a moment, staring at something down the street. When he looked back at her, he was frowning. "What exactly is it ya want me to do about this?"

"Anything. I just want him gone."

"Gone? As in dead?"

"I'm not asking you to kill him, but I certainly wouldn't shed a single tear if he were to die."

"Right. And what makes you think I'd even be willin' to help ya out?"

She clutched her purse. "I'll pay you."

Tim gave a cynical chuckle. "What is this? Some kind of hit-job?"

"I'm not asking you to kill him," she said again. "I just need him gone. Set something up so he ends up in prison. I'd do it myself, but … well, you know where I grew up - I'm not exactly the kind of girl who knows how to do that kind of thing."

"So you asked me."

She shrugged. "It's beginning to look like a mistake."

"How much?"

"Huh?"

"How much money you got?"

"Two thousand dollars. I took more from him when we left last week, but I had to use some."

"Well, shit." Tim scratched his jaw, and Lucy Jane let herself believe, just for a moment, that he might say yes. He seemed more interested - and maybe somewhat impressed with her - now that he knew how much money she had, but she wouldn't get her hopes up too high. "You stole from him?"

"Yes."

"And he knows it?"

"Well, yes, probably."

He glanced across the road at her car. "That yours?"

"Yes."

"He know what your car looks like?"

"No, I just bought it this morning." She decided against mentioning the car she had hidden away.

"Good thinking. Ain't no drug dealer out there gonna be okay with some broad taking his money."

"I figured."

Tim looked at her. "Two thousand bucks, huh? Just to get rid of this guy for you?"

"I'd give you more if I had it."

"Where's Daddy?" he asked. "Ain't he some big-shot lawyer?"

"Just because he's a lawyer doesn't mean he can do much. There's more than a few cops in on Rex's business, and unless someone who thinks like a gang leader can come up with a way to get him put away for a long time, he won't be going anywhere anytime soon - what?"

Tim stared at her, eyes colder and meaner than usual. "Rex?"

"Rex Hamilton."

"He's the one doin' this?"

"Yes."

"He's the one who beat up your sister? He's the one who lets other guys fuck her when she's wasted?"

Lucy Jane nodded, cringing. "He's the one."

"Okay. I'm in."

"_Really_?"

"Yeah, and had you told me his name from the beginning, I would've done it without the two grand."

_Yeah, why don__'__t one you people,  
__Come on, oh come on, come on and set me free._

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading :)


	4. Tearing at the Seams

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Punching in a Dream" by The Naked and Famous.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

_Like punching in a dream breathing life into my nightmare._

This was a mistake. She should have realised that the second the idea came to her, but having help had seemed too good to be true, and she just couldn't get rid of the idea. And getting _Tim__'__s_ help, well, that had just seemed inevitable. There was no one else who could help her with this, and whether she liked it or not, she was stuck doing what he said.

But even if she didn't like it, she wasn't going to complain. Maybe - maybe stupidly - she had so much faith in him that she would do whatever he told her to do just short of running up to Rex's place and knocking on the door. She wanted Tim's help, believed he would do his best to help her, but she wasn't stupid. She hoped she wasn't stupid. Tim wasn't exactly trustworthy, what with being a gang leader and all.

"You sure this is it?" he asked.

She nodded. _This_ was the mistake. Not asking Tim for help, but doing as he said and taking him to Rex's place. Her hands hadn't stopped shaking since their conversation back at Evie's house.

"Keys," he had demanded, holding out his hand.

"Um, no. It's _my_ car." The fact that it wasn't easy to drive was completely not the point.

"Look, if you want my help, kid, you gotta do what I say, when I say it."

She stood her ground, for no other reason than he was Tim Shepard and she knew he expected her to give into him without a fight.

He smirked, looking really damn amused. "Fine, have it your way. But I hope for both our sakes you know how to make a quick getaway."

She hadn't entirely understood what he was getting at, but threw him the keys anyway. Now, sitting in the passenger side of her new old car, she wished she had asked. Wished she'd figured it out earlier. Wished Tim wasn't so stupid as to take her to Rex's place.

No, wished she hadn't been so stupid as to mention it.

This was the very last place she wanted to be. Ever again. Too many bad things had happened here. She had _seen_ too many bad things happen here, and she hated it. She hated Rex.

"What are we even doing here?"

"Just getting a feel for the place. I gotta at least no what's happening if I plan on goin' in."

Her eyes widened. "You plan on going in?"

"Maybe."

"Are you insane?"

He grinned. "Maybe."

"You're actually going in?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"By - by yourself?"

He glanced at her. "You wanna come?"

"I really don't."

"Didn't think so. I'm thinkin' I've got a couple of guys who might help me out."

Lucy Jane nodded, but he didn't notice. He was too busy staring at the house again, and she figured that was probably a good thing. Better to have him keeping a good eye out than keeping good conversation with her. Though he was actually talking an awful lot more than she had expected him to. Watching him, she wondered how much more she could get out of him.

"Why're you doing this?"

"Doin' what?"

"Helping me."

"Money's money, kid."

"But it ain't about the money, is it? You said yourself you would have done it without the money had I just told you who it was."

Tim glanced at her. "I got my reasons."

"But you aren't going to tell me?"

He was silent and she assumed she was right. She wasn't even surprised - she didn't know the guy, but Tim Shepard didn't seem like the type to sit and have deep and meaningfuls with anyone, especially not the little rich girl who enjoyed slumming it with his brother. He remembered her all too well, and his knowing who she was wasn't what had worked in her favour. In fact, it had probably been working against her for a while.

She didn't know much about gang life, but she did know that Tim had never been happy that his little brother was dating a rich girl, a lawyer's daughter, a _Soc_. She cringed at the mere thought of the word, once again wishing things in her life could be different.

"Hamilton shot my best friend," Tim said, voice cutting through the quiet and making her jump.

"He _shot_ your best friend?"

"Yeah. It was a couple of years ago now, but Danny could've died that night."

Lucy Jane didn't know Danny, but she vaguely remembered Curly mentioning him once or twice.

"That's awful."

"It ain't great."

"So, you've just been waiting for revenge ever since?" she asked. "Since he nearly killed Danny?"

"Nah, I got revenge for that by sending Hamilton to prison for a few years." He turned to give her a crooked grin. "Only time in my life I've ever been completely honest with the fuzz."

Even Lucy Jane had to smile at that. "Well, I'm glad you got him put away for a while. I'm going to assume that means you can do it again, only for even longer."

"I'll do my fucking best."

She watched him watch the house, knowing that couldn't be all of it. Almost killing his best friend was definitely a big deal, but Tim had claimed to have got his revenge for that. There had to be something else - some other reason for him to be helping her. The look in his eyes while talking about Danny had nothing on the cold, hard glint in his eyes when she had said Rex's name.

"What else did he do?" she asked quietly.

"What makes you think there's anything else?"

She shrugged, not wanting to tell him her thoughts. "Nothin', I guess."

"Good, now would ya quit it with the questions?"

"Sorry."

He paused before responding. "Lemme ask you somethin', kid. Why're you trusting me with this?"

"What do you mean?"

He turned to look at her. "I mean, you don't know me from Adam. For all you know, I could be just as bad as Hamilton - shit, I could be on Hamilton's payroll. I've been to prison, I used to run a gang, I ain't above breaking the law - deep down I could be just like him. But you came to me anyway."

"Yeah, I guess."

"What's to stop me from takin' you up to the house and letting Hamilton have ya?"

"I …" She paused, realising he was right. She was putting all of her trust into him, and it could very well be the biggest mistake she made. "I don't know. I guess I just assumed …"

"What? Did you think just because you fucked around with Curly I'd help you."

She desperately willed away the blush she could feel. "No, Curly has nothing to do with this."

"Then why'd you come to me?"

"I … there was no one else." She paused, and slipped her hands between the seat and her thighs, hoping he would see them shake. "There was no one else. The only person I've had on my side this last year has been my sister, and even that's on rare occasions."

"When she's not too high to give a fuck, and not desperate enough to kill you for a hit?"

"Well … yeah. And after the way Rex hurt her last week, I just couldn't let her stay there anymore. I know you're not exactly a law abiding citizen, and I _know_ you made Curly dump me in high school, but out of everything I ever heard about you, that was the worst thing you'd done." She looked at him, refusing to back down. "I had to get Josie out of there, and I had to get us help, and, well, I don't know many criminals. You're the only other person I've ever known of who might possibly be as dangerous as Rex."

She had lain awake the night Rex went crazy, thinking and wondering and planning. She had thought about her parents, she had considered going to the police, and then she had realised she needed something different. Someone different. Someone whose brain worked in a similar way to Rex's.

At first she had thought of Curly - the tough, cool, solid Curly she remembered from high school - but had quickly decided against it. She didn't doubt that he would help her once he knew her circumstances, but then she got to thinking. Thinking about how she had promised to come back last summer, about how she had slept with Roger McKenna, about how she had spent months hiding their relationship.

Then she thought about that day he found her crying in the library at school, the night of graduation when he danced with her, the ten postcards she had sent him from Europe that summer. And then she decided against asking Curly for help. She decided against getting Curly involved at all.

"This girl I know," Tim said, then paused. "Well, I used to know her. Hamilton hurt her."

Lucy Jane looked at him. There was something in the way he said it that made her ask. "The same way he hurt Josie?"

"Close enough. Only Shelley wasn't doped up. She knew she was bein' forced, and Rex decided to do it himself just to get under my skin."

Even in the heat, Lucy Jane shuddered. She knew what Tim was saying - had heard a few girls crying in Rex's room over the last year - and hated it. Hated that Rex had done that to Tim's girlfriend, hated that he had done that to those crying girls, hated that she hadn't been able to help any of them.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Ain't your fault."

"Yeah, but …"

"But what, kid? There isn't a thing you could've done about it."

She nodded, knowing it was true. "I'm still sorry."

XXXXX

"You're lucky you didn't need stitches, ya know?"

Curly nodded, watching his girlfriend fuss about the room. Her long brown hair was pulled back, and her brown eyes glanced at him every few moments as she took away stained gauze and gloves. She wasn't the kind of girl who would get involved with River Kings, he knew that, but he just couldn't figure it out.

The only other girl in his life who mattered was Angela, and she wasn't that stupid. Not that Maria was stupid - far from it - but she was the only girl he could think of. Tim wasn't seeing anyone, hadn't been with anyone in particular since Shelley. Curly racked his brain, desperate to know who the hell Bull had been talking about.

"So, what the hell happened?" Maria asked.

He shook his head. "I dunno. I mean, I know, but … I can't figure out _why_ it happened."

"Who was it?"

"A couple of guys from River Kings."

She froze. "River Kings?"

"Yeah."

"Curly, that's - that's not good. Those guys are dangerous. They're the reason no other gangs exist these days."

"I know that."

"No, I mean really dangerous." She looked flustered and panicked, as she came to stand in front of him, but he was sure it was more about his safety than his finding out something she didn't want him to know. "They shot Danny Harris."

"Yeah, Maria, I fuckin' know that." He hadn't been there, but he sure remembered hearing about it, and it had scared the shit out of him. Tim had called him in juvie - one of only two times - and told him everything. And the only thing Curly had been able to concentrate on was keeping the vomit down. Dally and Johnny had been bad enough, but Danny?

"Of course you do."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

She shook her head. "It's okay. I know you know about the River Kings, much better than I do, but I just worry. About you, about Henry, about everyone."

"C'mon, you know you don't need to worry."

"I don't need to worry? Curly, that's not very reassuring."

He didn't suppose it was, either, but he couldn't help it. He didn't know what to say or do to make her relax. Partly because, when it came to the River Kings, she was right to worry, and partly because he just didn't know what to say. Angela didn't come out and say things like that. He was sure she worried, but showing it just wasn't her style.

Only one other girl had ever told him just how scared she got when he did gang stuff …

He sighed and looked at Maria. "I don't know what you want me to say. I wasn't exactly thrilled when Tim got back, and I don't wanna be getting into any of this mess with a rival gang - I'm over it. You know that."

"I do."

"But I can't just not do it. Tim's my brother."

And he was so fucking curious about this girl Bull had talked about. Who the fuck did he know that would get into it with the River Kings? Scratch that. There were more than a few guys he knew that would be so stupid, but girls? Fuck, he couldn't think of a single one. Not even Beth Travis was that stupid.

It had been a long time, but he had gotten used to getting jumped years ago, he had gotten used to fighting long before that, and he had gotten used to getting himself into some bad shit about the same time. But he had never known it to all be because of some girl he wasn't sure he even knew. He'd been in fights over girls before, but never like this.

Never so dangerously.

"I understand," Maria said. "I just want you to be careful. Seeing you in here because you were actually hurt was awful."

He stood and walked close to her. Placing his hands on her waist, he leaned in close. "Try not to worry, okay? I was fine, and once I talk to Tim, everything'll be okay."

"Why do you have to talk to Tim first?"

To see if he knows who _her_ is. "To see if he knows anything about this."

"Right." Maria nodded. She took one last look at the cut on his head, before kissing him lightly. "You make sure Jock gives you the rest of the day off, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." And before she could pull back, he kissed her again, not so lightly.

XXXXX

Jock had said to take the day off before Curly told him what Maria said, and he was glad. He could still work, but he didn't want to. He wanted to find Tim, he wanted to find out what girl Tim had gotten caught up in gang business, and he even wanted to get stuck into whatever was going on and fix this shit.

Maybe he didn't hate this whole thing as much as he thought he did. Maybe he kind of missed the excitement.

He'd had a while to think things through, and hadn't come to a single conclusion about who this girl might be. It sure as hell wasn't any of the girls he had been involved with the last year or two. Quick flings, meaningless sex, and the occasional relationship didn't account for Bull and Leon beating the hell out of him. Despite what they had said, he was pretty sure he was just a message meant for Tim. Again.

Curly climbed the last few steps, turned toward his apartment, and paused. Emmy was there, pacing in front of his front door, and a heavy shot of guilt pressed against him. He tried not to grimace as he made his way toward her.

"Curly. I - um … oh hell. What are you doin' here?"

She looked anxious as she avoided his gaze. Her usually perfectly coiled curls were messily pulled away from her face, she didn't have much make-up on, and she didn't seem able to stop wringing her hands in front of her.

"Ran into some trouble with some guys," he said, pointing to the cut on his face.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Are you okay? You wanna come inside?"

"No. I mean … that's really not necessary. I just …"

"What is it, Emmy?"

"Nothing." She said it far too quickly for him to believe. "I mean, is George home? Do you know?"

Curly grabbed her arm to take a peak at her watch. "He should be here pretty soon. He said he was comin' home for lunch."

"Right."

That didn't seem to calm her any, and Curly wasn't surprised. She wasn't nervous about being around him; she was nervous about seeing George. He figured he had put this off long enough, and stepped closer.

"Look, I'm real sorry about what I said the other night. What I said - I wasn't talkin' about you and George when I said it, you know?"

She looked him in the eyes for the first time since he arrived. "You were talking about you and Lucy Jane."

"Well, yeah."

"Have you heard from her?"

"Lucy Jane? Fuck, no way."

"How long has it been?"

"Graduation." He didn't even feel bad for lying; Emmy didn't need to know about the postcards Lucy Jane had sent him from Europe. The ones he had hidden away in a shoebox under his bed, like some fucking schoolgirl hiding her love letters.

"Right."

"Yeah. But, look, I really am sorry. George - he loves ya, you know? Like crazy."

Tears gathered in her blue eyes. "But what if you're right? What if he and I just aren't meant to be."

"You are."

"But how do you _know_?"

"Because I might say some stupid shit sometimes, but I know when I'm wrong."

She smiled. "Thanks. I guess I should really stop avoiding him, huh?"

"Fuck yeah. He's been miserable without ya."

"Like you without Lucy Jane?"

Curly sucked in a harsh breath. This wasn't standard conversation, not with Emmy, not with Tim, not even with George. In fact, before Emmy had mentioned Lucy Jane not a minute ago, Curly couldn't remember the last time her name had come up around him. He wasn't stupid enough to think Emmy and George didn't talk about her - he knew Emmy was pissed that Lucy Jane hadn't been in contact - but they never spoke to _him_ about her.

"Sorry," Emmy said. "I didn't mean -"

"It's fine."

"But -"

"Really, just forget about it."

Like he really fucking wished he could.

_They__'__ll get you in the place that you feel it the most._

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading!


	5. You Won't Make it Out

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Scumbag Blues" by Them Crooked Vultures.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_Innocence has no resistance,  
__Against a wicked counsellor such as I._

Despite her situation - sitting outside Rex's house, alone with Tim Shepard, wondering and worrying about Josie - all Lucy Jane could think about was what Tim had told her. There was a girl - one she was willing to bet was important to him - and Rex had hurt her. Really badly hurt her.

It was just another thing to make her hate him - a feeling she still wasn't entirely used to. She'd never hated anyone before. For a while in the beginning she had pretended to hate Curly, not long after that she felt some very strong dislike for Beth Travis, and the same could be said about Roger McKenna a few months later. But she had never hated any of them. She had never hated anyone until she saw the way Rex treated her sister.

Home for the summer, the thought of working up the courage to visit Curly had been strong and the only thing she could think about. She knew where he lived, where he worked, and where she could find him thanks to Emmy dating George, but the thought of actually going to one of those places terrified her.

They had left things on reasonable terms, with very tentative plans to see each other the summer after her first year at college. But those plans didn't change much - not their destructive relationship, not the awful things Curly had said when he dumped her, and especially not the fact that she had slept with Roger. Nothing changed any of that, and after a month back in Tulsa, she still hadn't found the guts to see him.

Instead, she had found Josie. Lucy Jane had found her sister - her peace, love, and rock-and-roll sister - sitting in a library parking lot with a group of friends, all of them higher than she realised. Or maybe higher than she cared, because seeing Josie for the first time in years was all she cared about.

Josie had begged her to come to her house, just to visit, and days later, Lucy Jane was still there, unwilling to leave her sister alone with the people she had been spending her time with. Unwilling to leave her alone with Rex Hamilton.

Staying had been stupid and dangerous, but she just hadn't been able to leave. Not without Josie.

But staying had turned into the biggest mess of her life, and sometimes Rex _wasn__'__t_ the only person she hated. Sometimes, she kind of hated Josie, too.

She glanced at Tim. "How long are we going to wait?"

"How long have we been here?"

"Uh …" She glanced at her watch, frustrated that it hadn't been nearly as long as it felt. "Only an hour."

Tim nodded. "Let's go over the layout of the house again."

"Again? Fine. You walk right into the hallway, on the left is a bedroom, the right is the living room which leads to the kitchen and dining room. Down the hallway on the left is another bedroom, the bathroom, and the staircase." She had told him this so many times now that she didn't even have to picture it as she went. "Upstairs you have one hallway running right down the middle, three bedrooms on one side, two and a bathroom on the other. His is the middle room at the front."

"And in the other four bedrooms?"

"One was my room, one is full of weapons and drugs, and the others are for the people he's always letting stay there."

"Which one has the weapons?"

"The one on the right of Rex's. They connect."

"Of course they do." Tim paused, staring up at the house. "Christ, I always knew this guy was getting into some heavy shit, but I didn't realise how heavy until I saw this house. Seven bedrooms?"

She grinned. "Well, I think the one in front downstairs was originally a den, but it now sleeps three or fours users a night - sometimes more. The one down the back was originally a study, and, going by size alone, I'm positive two of the upstairs bedrooms are supposed to be walk-in closets of some kind. Including my bedroom."

"Does he keep the weapons and drugs in a closet or bedroom?"

"Bedroom. There's no way all that would fit in one of the closet rooms."

He sighed. "That's what I figured. And kinda what I was hoping against."

"I still can't believe you plan on going in there. I mean, I know I asked for your help, but I never expected … actually, I'm not sure what I expected.

Tim stared at her for a long minute before looking back at the house. When he did, he cursed and slouched down in his seat.

"_Fuck_. Who's that?"

"Who?"

He tugged at her arm until she was nearly lying on the seat. "Christ, get down, idiot."

"You asked me who it was!"

"You're not supposed to stick your head out the window and ask their names, though. Shit, you really didn't grow up on this side of town, did ya?"

Ignoring that, she sneaked a peak out the windscreen. "Oh. That's Leon and Bull. They're awful."

Rex had rewarded their good work once by letting them fool around with Josie. Once again, Lucy Jane had had no say in the matter, and hadn't been able to do anything but sit back and let it happen. Until Leon decided he liked her better than Josie. She still didn't know why Rex didn't let Leon have her, but it was probably the only almost-courteous thing he had ever done in his life. Certainly the only courteous thing he had done in the time Lucy Jane had known him.

"Leon and Bull, huh?" Tim looked over the dash. "Yeah, I've heard of them."

"I wouldn't mind terribly if they got locked up with Rex, ya know?"

He chuckled. "I'll see what I can - _shit_. They've seen us."

"_What_?"

He didn't answer, but she was suddenly glad she had let him drive. The car was running, and he was wrenching the old hunk of junk away from the curb within seconds. Afraid of what she might see, she glanced out the rear window. Leon and Bull were standing on the curb, watching them pull away, but not following. She turned around and told Tim.

"They will. They saw us and they'll be all over us now. Whether they recognised us or not ain't gonna matter."

"It won't?"

"Nope." Still driving, Tim used his knees to steer the wheel, and grabbed his smokes and lighter out of his jeans pockets before lighting up a smoke with his free hands - a move that reminded her so much of Curly that she had to look away. "If they didn't recognise us, they'll wanna know who the fuck we are. If they did recognise us … well, we'll see them soon enough."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, kid. I'll find a way outta this."

She believed him. She wasn't sure why, but she did. But, taking another glance out the back window, her heart plummeted at the car that was catching up to them.

"They're following," she screeched. "They're actually following us."

"Relax."

"Relax? _Relax_?" Lucy Jane couldn't stop the shaking of her hands, the pounding of her heart, or the sick feeling rising in her. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

Tim made a face. "At least we're in your car." He made a sharp turn at the next corner, which didn't help her stomach at all.

"How can you be so damn calm about this? They're _following us_."

"Yeah, and what're they gonna do if they catch us?"

She didn't want to think about that - _couldn__'__t_ think about that. So far Rex had let her get away with mouthing off, not taking any of this drugs or putting out to any of his guys, and being a general pain in his ass. She had been threatened, hurt, and witness to too many cruel things, but he had never once been forced into another person's bed, never had a needle stuck into her arm without her permission, never been used for anything but a verbal and emotional - occasionally physical - punching bag.

That would all change the moment he got a hold of her. She wasn't stupid enough to think she would get away with being there as Josie's sister and Josie's sister only after this. If he caught her, he would kill her.

After putting her through every pain he could think of.

"You don't know," she said to Tim. "You just don't know the things he will do."

"The hell I don't," he growled back.

"No. You know what happened to your girl, but you don't _know_. You haven't been there, you haven't heard it, you haven't _seen_ it. You don't know."

Tim glanced at her, but changed the subject. "Put your belt on."

She did as he said, figuring it was better to trust him than it was to trust Bull or Leon or anyone else who worked for Rex. The moment the belt clicked into place, Tim pressed his foot on the gas pedal and they took off. She didn't know how he did it, but he seemed to have no trouble making this car do exactly what he wanted. Lucy Jane had trouble finding second, but he seemed to change gears without a problem.

They skidded around the next corner, and she grabbed at the armrest and seat to keep herself in place. He might change gears with smooth precision, but she was beginning to worry he'd get her killed with or without the seatbelt he'd made her put on.

"Please don't crash."

"I ain't gonna crash."

She glanced at him, thankful he was concentrating on the road ahead. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Good, because if I was ready to die I would've ran right into Rex's house instead of hanging out with you this past hour."

Tim chuckled. "You're awfully morbid."

"I'm not morbid, I'm worried. If you could really try not to get us killed, that would be great."

As if someone was listening into their conversation, a loud crack sounded from next to her, and the glass in the side mirror shattered.

"Oh, shit," Tim said.

"What was that?"

"They're shooting at us."

"They're …" She trailed off, feeling light-headed.

Tim still seemed to be concentrating hard on what was ahead of him. "Stay low, kid," he said, just as another bullet hit her car, this time cutting through the back windscreen. "Fuck."

Sitting low in her seat, Lucy Jane looked at Tim with wild eyes, watching as he pulled the wheel into a sharp turn. The tires screeched, and horn blared at them, but they weren't her biggest concern. In fact, her biggest concern now was the fact that Tim had stopped.

"Why are you stopping?"

"Because we're as safe as we're gonna get." He stared into the rear-view mirror a few moments, before glancing at her. "You can get up now. They won't follow us in here."

"Where are we?" she asked as she sat up. He didn't need to tell her, though; everyone knew what the local police station looked like. Even if Rex had a couple of cops on his side, they were still fairly safe there.

XXXXX

Emmy looked like she was ready to open her mouth and try apologise again, and, for the life of him, Curly couldn't understand why she didn't just get the hint and shut up. Sure, it was probably because he had frozen up at her words, and that said more than anything, but he figured not dwelling on that would be for the best.

Thankfully, footsteps coming up the stairwell stopped her, and they both looked to see George arrive. He paused and stared at them both a moment, before coming forward.

"What're you doin' here?" he asked, gaze set on Emmy.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" She shrugged, not saying anything but not making any move to leave either. George sighed, and turned to look at Curly. "What the hell happened to you?"

Curly told him, not leaving anything out. "I've been thinkin' about it since, and I can't fuckin' figure out who the broad is."

"You sure it ain't Maria?"

"You really think she'd do that? And I don't just mean because she's datin' me, but Henry's her brother, and they're pretty close."

George nodded. "Yeah, I don't think she'd do that. I don't know what it is you two are, but she wouldn't betray you or Henry like that."

Curly wasn't exactly sure what they were either. In a relationship, yes, but he couldn't say how serious it was. He sure liked the girl, and she claimed to love him, but they'd never had that talk. That talk that determined what they were to each other. They had gone from screwing one night, to screwing the next weekend, to it becoming so regular it seemed like a relationship.

"I hate to say this," George began, "but Angel ain't screwin' about is she?"

Curly thought about it, and not as her brother who believed she wouldn't be that fucking stupid. But even if he and Tim weren't her brothers, she still seemed pretty happy with Bobby. At least, as happy as Angela could be with a husband who actually stood up to her.

"Na, it won't be Angel. She's not that fucking stupid … or angry. She'd have to be furious at one of us to be messing around with any River Kings."

"Well, fuck." George ran a hand through his blond hair. "It could be anyone. Some of the guys have had so many girlfriends it's hard to keep track, and it could be any-fucking-one of them."

"You really think so?"

"You don't?"

"I dunno." Curly shrugged. "I just - I can't help thinkin' it ain't just some chick, you know? It's gotta be someone who was important to someone, otherwise why would the River Kings be comin' at us? At me?"

George raised an eyebrow. "Shelley?"

Curly shook his head, adamant. That girl had loved Tim - genuinely fucking loved him. And even if she hadn't, he knew for sure she was the last girl who would get involved with the River Kings. In fact, probably the only person who hated Rex Hamilton more than she did was Tim, and that was because of what Rex had done to her.

"It ain't Shelley."

"Maybe you should ask Tim," Emmy said.

He looked at her, having almost forgotten she was still there. "Don't need to; it ain't Shelley."

"No, I mean, he might know something. I know he just got out yesterday, but he might know _something_."

George nodded. "It's worth a try. Those fuckers might've said it ain't about Tim, but d'you really believe that?"

Curly wasn't sure whether he did or not, but talking to Tim had been a part of the plan anyway. Tim was still the _leader_ after all.

"You know where I can find him?" he asked.

"I think I heard him say he was meeting Danny at Buck's at twelve."

Emmy's watch had said just after twelve when he checked earlier. He would have plenty of time to catch Tim at Buck's.

"I should get going," Emmy said, and moved to step past them both.

George caught her hand. "Don't go."

"I really ought to."

"_Why_?"

"I just - I need to …"

He sighed. "Baby, what's goin' on?"

Curly felt like he was watching something he should never see. He had seen plenty of moments between Emmy and George - some were hard to miss considering he lived with the guy. He had seen them cuddling on the couch, mid-earnest conversations in the weeks before getting together, and mid-heavy make-out sessions in the weeks after getting together.

But he hadn't ever been witness to something like this. Something that was his fault. He hated that he had to see it almost as much as he hated that it was happening. Even catching them doing unmentionable acts on the couch was better than this … _maybe_. He stared at Emmy, silently begging her to remember what he had said before George arrived, to _believe_ what he had said. Because it was all true - he might get bitter about his relationship with Lucy Jane, but he knew George and Emmy were meant to be together.

"Nothing's going on," she said.

"I don't believe you."

Emmy glanced at Curly, then back at George. "Do - do you believe we're meant to be together? Forever?"

"Yeah, I do."

More tears sprang to Emmy's eyes, and Curly figured it was time to move on. Not saying a word, he edged around them and into the apartment. He could hear George whispering to Emmy as he walked inside, and hoped like hell he got through to her. Even if that meant George finding out exactly why she had been avoiding him. Curly could take the anger from George, mostly because he figured he deserved it.

Once in the bathroom, he turned on the shower and grabbed some clean clothes. He needed to be clear-headed for his talk with Tim - especially after their fight the night before - and a hot shower would help. Hell, washing the blood from his head would help. He didn't need Tim's lecture on getting jumped, and he might be able to avoid it if Tim couldn't see too much evidence of it.

Out of the hot shower and in his clean clothes, he headed into the living room/kitchen area, towel drying his hair as he went. George was there, and judging by the scowl on his face, he hadn't had any luck with Emmy. Curly debated whether or not to tell him the truth, but the ringing phone stopped him.

He picked it up. "Yeah?"

"It's me," Danny said. "I need you at Buck's now."

"Why? What's goin' on? Where's Tim?"

"Just get here. Come alone and park around the back." He hung up before Curly could get in another word.

"Who was that?" George asked as Curly hung up the phone.

"Danny. He wants me at Buck's. You think Tim already knows about what happened?"

"Who knows? Maybe something similar happened to him."

"I guess, but Danny told me to come alone. You'd think if it was a gang thing he'd want you there, too."

George grinned. "Maybe it ain't a gang thing - maybe it's a Shepard thing and you're all fucked."

"Thanks, man. Thanks a lot."

"Be careful," George said. "And try not to get into any more fist fights with your brother. I know you're a little bigger than him now, but he's still Tim. He'll kick your ass without a second thought."

Curly nodded, but he didn't need that reminder. Picking up his keys, he headed for the door.

_Shall I lead you to my parlor,  
__Poison offers disguised in just your size._

* * *

**A/N:** Apologies for the late update. _Supernatural_ has sucked me in, and Destiel makes me giddy ;)


	6. Distant Dark Places

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" by Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

_I hang my coat up in the first bar,  
__There is no peace that I__'__ve found so far._

"Where have you been?" Lucy Jane asked the second Tim closed the door behind him.

They were parked in a busy grocery store parking lot, hidden by a bunch of other crappy cars around them. Tim had left her fifteen minutes ago, claming he needed to make a quick phone call on the payphone. That had been fine until two minutes had passed and he had hung up the phone and disappeared.

She trusted him more than she did Rex, but she wouldn't put it past him to ditch her.

"I was making a call."

"You left the payphone ages ago."

"Relax, I had to get smokes."

"And you couldn't have told me?"

"You ain't my keeper."

"I know, but -"

"Look, Lucy Jane." It was the first time he had called her by name, other than repeating her back at Evie's. It did a pretty good job of shutting her up, too. "I said I'd help, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"And you believed me?"

"Well … yeah."

"Then calm the fuck down, would ya? I ain't gonna take off on ya. I told you I wanted to help - money or no money."

She nodded, knowing he was right - knowing she was paranoid. It wasn't something she could help, though; she had been living in fear for the last year, and this last week had been especially bad. Rex had never hurt her directly, but she didn't much like watching Josie get used the way she did. Nor did it mean Rex wouldn't hurt her if he found her. In fact, she was pretty sure he would do whatever he could to hurt her. Not only did she take Josie away, but also his car … his blue Corvette full of things she didn't want to think about. She pushed that thought away.

"Who'd you call?" she asked.

"Danny."

"Why?"

Tim scowled at her questions. "I was meant to meet him at twelve. We're only a little late, but I had to get him to call some people for me before we got there."

"Oh."

"And now, sorry to say it, kid, but we gotta get rid of this car."

"Already? I only just bought it this morning."

He shrugged. "We've been seen in it - hell, we've been shot at in it. Hiding out at the police station for a few minutes doesn't change that."

"I can't afford another car," she said. "I mean, I've got that money I promised you, but it's for you -"

"Don't need it. C'mon. Grab whatever you need, and follow me."

She did as he said, grabbing her purse and nothing else - there really wasn't anything else - and climbed out of the car into the hot summer air. At first it seemed like they were wandering aimlessly through the parking lot until she realised Tim was testing the door handles of whichever cars took his fancy.

"We are _not_ stealing a car."

"Shut the fuck up."

"We can't _do that_."

"Why not?" He seemed genuinely perplexed, and she frowned.

"It's against the law."

"So is asking a guy to kill someone for you. You don't see me rushing to talk to the fuzz, do ya?"

She blushed. "That's not what I did."

"It's as good as."

"Are you telling me that that's what you plan on doing? Killing him?"

He paused, thinking over her answer. "I dunno. I'd like to, but … I don't know."

"Why not?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"Sorry."

He turned away from her and opened the car door next to him. With a swaggering grin, he waved an arm toward the car. "Climb in, kid."

She did, and slid over the bench seat to make room for him. She didn't know what kind of car this one was, but it was blue and so much nicer than the green Buick they had just left behind. Pulling her hair over one shoulder, she looked around the car, pausing when Tim got in.

"Wait," she said, "You don't have any keys."

Tim paused and frowned at her, looking as though he was unsure whether to be amused by her, or fed up with her. "I don't need any."

And apparently he didn't. After fiddling with some wires beneath the steering wheel, the car rumbled to life and a shot of relief ran through her. She had always considered hotwiring a car to be illegal, simple as that, but as Tim hit the gas pedal, she decided it was a pretty good skill to have.

Even still, she quickly checked the sun visors, just to be sure. "Found the keys," she muttered. Tim gave her the same look as before, and she shoved the keys in her pocket and quickly changed the subject.

"What if they find the old car?"

He shrugged. "We won't hold on to this one forever. Anyway, they'll probably be on their way to Buck's, which happens to be exactly where we're goin'."

She looked at him, alarmed. "If they're going to Buck's, then why the hell are we?"

"Because I gotta get you somewhere safe." The words weren't what she had been expecting. They were almost kind. "By the time those fuckers get there, you should be long gone until I figure out what to do."

"Oh. Good." She had spent a lot of time hating Tim during her senior year of high school, but now she could barely remember why .

XXXXX

Lucy Jane stared at the building before her.

"So. This is Buck's."

"Yeah."

"I spent a lot of time hating this place," she admitted.

"Why?"

She couldn't tell him why, and hated that she'd even said it. Telling Tim that she hated this place because of the girls who came here, because those girls were far more Curly's type than she had ever been, just couldn't happen. She hadn't thought about the place in a long time - maybe once or twice while imagining trying to find Curly - but she sure had hated it while she was with Curly.

"Who're we meeting here?"

Tim didn't say anything about her change in conversation. "Danny. C'mon, he'll be inside."

She followed him in, not sure what to expect. It wasn't what she had imagined - somehow, it was actually nicer than the dilapidated place she had been picturing - but it was just another run of the mill roadhouse, similar to the ones she had been dragged to this last year. It seemed Rex didn't trust her to leave her alone in the house too often.

Wiping her palms on her shorts, she followed Tim to the bar, stopping behind him while he talked to some guy. She looked around him, taking in the guy she assumed was Danny, while Tim told him about being followed, shot at, and his currently-non-existent plan to get Rex. And, judging by the frown on Danny's face, he didn't seem pleased.

"C'mon, man, you know this ain't a good idea," he said.

Tim was silent for a long moment, and Lucy Jane was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of what she was sure to be a mean glare. "So you ain't gonna help?" he finally asked.

"It's not that simple, and you know it. I can't get caught doin' that kinda shit anymore, Tim. And if you know what's good for you, you wouldn't either."

"I don't have a choice."

"Fuck that, you've always got a choice."

"Not this time."

Danny sighed and turned back to the bar. "Fine. I'll help. I ain't getting involved, but I'll get you what you need."

"Thanks." Tim's voice was impassive, at best. Even Lucy Jane could tell he wasn't happy with Danny not getting involved.

She stepped slightly to the side so she could see better. Tim and Danny weren't looking at each other, and there was definitely something tense in the air. Tim had a heavy scowl on his face, while Danny gripped the beer in front of him, and she felt like she was in the middle of what could turn into a pretty nasty fight.

Tim glanced at her then, and seemed to remember she was there. He turned back to Danny, and all hostility was gone.

"You made those phone calls, right?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Jack's getting some stuff together for you right now. He'll just need to know where to take it and when. I told Henry what's goin' on, and he's ready for whatever you need him to do, and Curly's on his way. He should be here any minute."

Lucy Jane's stomach dropped. She looked at Tim with wide eyes, but he grabbed her arm before she could say a word.

"C'mon." He then turned to Danny. "Send Curly upstairs the second he gets here."

"Sure, man."

Trying not to be half-dragged, she hurried after him up the stairs. All she could think about was Curly - that fact that she was about to see him again for the first time in two years. She had to swallow back the sick feeling in her throat.

Tim stopped at a landing at the top if the stairs, in front of a window that gave a decent view of outside. She didn't know if he was waiting to see when Curly turned up, or whether or not Bull and Leon would be arriving anytime soon. She pulled out of his grasp, and tried to keep her voice steady.

"Curly?"

He didn't even glance at her. "No, I'm Tim."

"You … _why_? Why is he coming here?"

Tim smirked, but he seemed more amused than anything. "Someone's gotta deal with ya while I sort this shit out."

"But … why Curly?"

"Kid, you ask a shitload of questions. You realise that, right?"

She hadn't until Tim had pointed it out in the parking lot not half an hour ago. But he was right, and she could only assume that not having anyone to have a genuine conversation with over the last year might have something to do with that.

"So?"

"So if he put up with you for months in high school, then I'm sure he can do it again now."

"I didn't ask this many questions in high school."

"You really think that's the point?"

She sighed, watching as a car she didn't recognise pulled on to the gravel in front of Buck's, and sped around the back. She didn't know if it was Curly, or just some other guy, and tried to calm her thudding heart. "Does he know? Does he know I'm here?"

"Nope."

She didn't know what else to say. It shouldn't be a big deal at all, and it probably wasn't to Curly, but it was to her. It was a huge deal.

"Here we go," Tim said, staring at a car coming down the long, deserted road.

"That's them?"

"That's them." He turned away from the window. "You ready, kid?"

"Ready for what, exactly?"

"For whatever happens from now until it's done. This is what you wanted. Ain't no backing out now."

"Sure." Except that she thought she might throw up. "But, um, is there a bathroom I can use first?"

XXXXX

Still not knowing what the fuck was going on, Curly pulled his car into Buck's, and sped around the back. The last thing he wanted was to have Bull or Leon find his car and come after him again. One beating was enough for one day, thanks very much. Running a hand through his still-damp hair, he climbed out of his car and headed for the back door.

Danny was at the bar, looking pissed off. Curly couldn't blame him - Danny wanted as little to do with this gang bullshit as he did. The fact that things with Sylvia were going so well probably had something to do with that, but Curly wasn't sure that would be good enough for Tim. Nothing was good enough for Tim.

Especially not Danny taking Curly's side the night before. He hadn't helped him fight Tim, but he had told Tim to get the fuck out and calm the fuck down. Curly remembered it perfectly; seeing someone - _Danny_ - stand up for him to Tim was one of those moments of his life he would never forget.

"You doin' okay?" Danny asked when he saw him.

"I'm fine. What's goin' on?"

"What the fuck happened to you?"

Curly sighed, but told Danny what happened before changing the subject. "Any idea what's goin' on?"

"Yeah, I think so. Look, Tim's upstairs. He wants you up there now."

He nodded, knowing there was no point in arguing. If Tim wanted him upstairs now, then, whether he liked it or not, he would be upstairs now. And despite his earlier thoughts about being excited again by all this gang stuff, all he wanted now was to go home. He sighed, throwing a careless wave at Danny, and headed for the stairs.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to make things right with George and Emmy. He wanted to pick up his girl and spend the rest of the day in bed with her. Instead, he was back doing what-was-sure-to-be shit jobs for Tim. Fuck, he was supposed to be taking it easy with his head wounds - not that he had ever listened to that advice before - not being at Tim's beck and call again.

Not even halfway up the stairs, he heard footsteps coming to meet him. A moment later, Tim was standing on the landing in front of him.

"'Bout fuckin' time you got here."

Curly didn't bother replying to that. "What d'you even want?"

"I think we're finally gonna get rid of Hamilton."

_We_? Curly sighed. It wasn't that he didn't think Hamilton deserved it - hell, the bastard deserved it for what he done to Shelley alone - he just wasn't sure how involved he wanted to get.

"What the fuck happened to you?" Tim asked.

"Got jumped," he said, sick of having to tell everyone. "Bull and Leon from River Kings got me good with a fuckin' spanner this morning."

"Fuckers."

"You ain't kiddin'. Weird thing is, they said it had nothin' to do with you, and that in itself sure surprised me -"

"You've got a fucking smart mouth on ya, kid."

"- but then they started talkin' about some chick," Curly continued, as though Tim hadn't said a word. "And the only girls in my life are Angel and Maria, and, shit, Tim, d'you know who it is? 'Cause I really don't want Maria to be messing with that shit."

Tim stared at him for a moment, before replying in a low voice. "It ain't Maria."

"Angela?"

"No, not Angel."

Curly was at a loss. Unless Tim had some new girl no one knew about, the only other broad it could be was Shelley. And he just fucking knew that it wasn't Shelley.

"Then who the fuck were they talkin' about, Tim? Who's the girl the River Kings are after?" Because if Tim knew who it wasn't then surely he knew who it was.

Tim opened his mouth to reply, but footsteps behind him stopped him from saying anything.

"Fuck, finally," he muttered. He turned to grab the person behind him, and pushed them at Curly. "Here, take her."

Curly instinctively caught the person Tim threw at him, realising at the last second that Lucy Jane was in his arms. Lucy Jane. Lucy fucking Jane. The same girl he'd chosen over everything in high school, the same girl he had messed up with so many times, the same girl who had messed with his head too many times. She was supposed to come back last summer, and she never turned up.

But now she was there. His hands were gripping her waist, he couldn't take his eyes off her, and he could _still_ catch a faint scent of flowers coming from her hair. She wouldn't meet his gaze, she was so tense he could feel it, and he didn't know what the fuck was going on. He just didn't get it.

Whatever was going on suddenly didn't matter. Her warm skin was seeping through the material of her shirt and into the skin of his hands, and he had to let go. It burned him, and he couldn't stand to continue touching her. He had to get away from her before she messed with him all over again.

He jerked his hands off her body, half-pushing her away as he did. With a heavy swallow, he tore his gaze away from the girl in front of him, and looked at Tim.

"What the _fuck_, man?"

"Where'd you park?"

Where did he park? Jesus Christ, that had nothing to do with anything.

"Out back," he said, trying to play it cooler than he felt. Lucy Jane still wouldn't look at him, and she was standing stiffly next to him - pretty much right up against him - and he just ached to get away. "Bull and Leon followed me to work this morning -"

"Shit. Okay." Tim nodded. "Okay. Take her out back, and go hide out."

Curly looked at Lucy Jane, well aware of the way her chest rose and feel with each deep breath she took. "Take her?" He was well aware that tone to his voice sounded an awful lot like disgust.

"Yeah."

"And … go hide out?"

"Yes, Curly. Go and fucking hide out. You want me to write you instructions or somethin'?"

"Where the hell am I s'posed to hide out, Tim?"

"I don't give a shit, man. Just do it. I don't have time for this crap. A couple of River Kings are heading toward here right now."

_Shit_. "Are you gonna tell me what the fuck's goin' on?"

"She can fill you in on the way. Just find somewhere to hide out," Tim said. He grabbed Lucy Jane's arm to look at her watch. "Call me at thee o'clock at … shit. Where?"

"Emmy's?" Lucy Jane said, and her voice was enough to make him take a step back.

"George's girl? Yeah." Tim nodded again. "That'll do. Call me at Emmy's at three. If no one answers, keep hiding, and keep trying to call me every half hour until I answer. Got it?"

Curly nodded.

"What're you going to do?" Lucy Jane asked.

Tim grinned. "I'll figure somethin' out. Curly, you got a blade or somethin'?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Just do as I say, call me at three, and I'll have something sorted. Now get the fuck outta here."

Curly said nothing, but quickly reached out to grab Lucy Jane's hand. He didn't know why - it was a stupid thing to do, really, because he didn't want to touch her - it was just … instinct, or something. Even if he wanted to let it go again right away.

She didn't pull away when he touched her, but she did finally look at him … and he had to avert his gaze immediately. He couldn't stand it, and that pissed him off more than anything. This girl was old news. So he still got bitter and frustrated about her sometimes - that didn't mean shit. He was with Maria now, and looking into Lucy Jane's eyes was nothing. It was just nothing.

He tugged her along behind him - down the steps and out of Buck's - and didn't say a word. Not a fucking thing. He didn't know what he was supposed to say - hell, he didn't know what the fuck he _could_ say. The whole situation was too fucked up, and he could barely comprehend any of it. The fact that it was Lucy Jane's hand he was once again holding … it was too much.

This wasn't just any ex-girlfriend. This wasn't someone he could even pretend to have civil conversation with. This wasn't someone he had ever managed to be around without touching. And with her hand in his - warm, soft, holding on for dear life - that already seemed like a problem he hadn't yet grown out of.

But he still couldn't talk to her. Or look to her. Shit, just being near her was torture.

He opened the car door for her, and went around to his own side, not looking at her once. At his door, he paused a moment, trying to get his bearings. He heard a car pull on to the gravel in front of Buck's, and knew he didn't have long. He also knew he'd have to talk to Lucy Jane in a few seconds, and tell her to stay the fuck out of sight.

With a deep breath, and a few different memories from high school - ones of his cocky attitude, the way he played it cool when she wouldn't tell anyone about him, his uncaring attitude in the months after they broke up - he was ready to go. He climbed in the car, muttered at her to get down, then tore out of Buck's before anyone could notice him.

_The laughter penetrates my silence,  
__As drunken men find flaws in silence._

* * *

**A/N:** As usual, thanks to Sam who is amazing. Also, thanks to IAmOnlyMe, who recently sent me some kick-ass reviews that persuaded me to stop ignoring this fic in favour of another fandom :P


	7. You are the Silence in Between

**Disclaimer:** I do now own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "No Light, No Light" by Florence and the Machine.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_You want a revelation,  
__You want to get it right,  
__But it__'__s a conversation,  
__I just can__'__t have tonight._

Lucy Jane kept her hands between her legs and the car seat as Curly drove, not wanting him to see her shaking. She sat pressed against the passenger door, her whole body coiled with tension, anxiety, fear. It had been a near-miss at Buck's, with a couple of guys she knew only by sight having pulled in seconds before she and Curly pulled out.

But that only explained the fear, and was only slightly responsible for her shaking hands. The rest - the tension, the anxiety, the outright _trembling_ of her hands - was all due to Curly.

She wished she could pretend like this didn't matter, but she had never had much luck pretending Curly didn't matter. In high school, just catching his gaze in the parking lot or across the hallway was enough to make her heart pound. Seeing him again now, after two years, did that and then some. She had been too busy, too preoccupied, all morning to give him much thought at all, but now that he was there, that she was with him, that she was sitting alone in a car with him … it made her head spin.

But she knew it wasn't just her, and that made it a bit better. The whole car was filled with a thick silence, Curly had only met her gaze once - and very briefly at that - and his knuckles were white around the steering wheel as he drove. She hoped that didn't mean he was angry, but going by his attitude at Buck's, she thought he might be.

And she could understand it. She had done so much wrong in their time together, and then she hadn't turned up last summer like she said she would. Not only that, but he can't have been pleased that Tim had made him come to Buck's and _take her_ without even having the consideration to ask. Tim had brought Curly into this whole mess, and surely Curly couldn't have been happy about that.

Lucy Jane wasn't. She had been trying to avoid getting Curly involved all along.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and hated that things were so bad - with Josie, with her family, with Curly.

Josie was still at the hotel, but Lucy Jane was worried about her nonetheless. There was no guarantee that her sister was safe there - not with Rex looking for them, and not with the creepy hotel manager downstairs. She just hoped that Josie had enough sense to stay calm and wait.

Her family - her mom, her dad, Harry … she didn't want to think about them. It hurt too much to think about them. Especially Harry.

She didn't know what the rest of the day would bring, and, despite what she had told Tim, wasn't sure she was ready to find out, but she was glad that something was finally happening. Whatever happened, it was better than being a prisoner in Rex Hamilton's house. Whatever happened, it might get her back home to her parents and her brother. And that was all she wanted; to be home with her family, Josie included.

But, now, here was Curly, and he was everything she remembered - law-breaking, dangerous, and gorgeous. She hadn't exactly liked the law-breaking aspect of him when they were younger, but after the last year, she could hardly judge. Plus, it could very well come in handy during the next few hours.

That was if his temper didn't get in the way.

She looked at him again, hating that he wouldn't speak to her or look at her. He had touched her, held her hand and dragged her outside, and her whole body had reacted right away, caught fire right away. She hadn't wanted to let go, but knew holding on was stupid. In fact, she knew most of these thoughts were stupid, just like they had been in high school.

Curly had a girlfriend, and Lucy Jane had Josie and Rex and a huge mess to clean up. The fact that she and Curly had spent so many nights driving around like this didn't matter. Of course, despite all their fights back then, the air had never been this heavy and uncomfortable.

She didn't realise where they were going until they were almost there. She hadn't said a word to him - had trusted him completely and without question to get her somewhere safe - and now she was regretting it. Maybe if she had said something, asked where he planned on taking her, she could have changed his mind.

The lake looked exactly the same - maybe less used, but still the same. Same trees, same rocks, same view. And too many memories. But she knew it was probably the perfect place to hide out. They had spent a lot of time there in the months they had been together, and no one had ever found them. It was secluded, silent, secret. It was the perfect hideout, just like it had been in high school.

Curly stopped the car, and she waited for him to say something. She knew she had a bit of explaining to do, but didn't know how, or where, to start. Waiting for him to start asking her questions - or start yelling at her, whatever came first - would be easier.

Instead, he got out of the car. She watched him pace for a minute, certain there would be no questions, but plenty of yelling. That was okay, she had been yelled at by much worse, but she waited a little longer before getting out of the car. If he could get out some of his anger before she faced him … well, that would be just peachy.

Finally, she climbed out and walked around to face him. Leaves crunched beneath her feet and she suddenly realised she missed the snow. She had never been much for winter, but she missed the sparkly, fresh snow at the lake. Shaking away those thoughts, she looked at Curly as he rounded on her.

"It's you?" he asked, voice strained. "You're _her_?"

She nodded. She wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about, but from what she had heard of his conversation with Tim, she figured there was a good chance he was right. The River Kings were looking for someone, and chances were it was her or Josie. Either way, she was involved.

"Fucking hell," he muttered, and continued pacing.

It had worried her upon learning he had been beat up by River Kings, but now she was even more worried. They hadn't gone after him for fun - it was because of her. Because she had taken Josie, taken Rex's money, and left. And now they were coming after her by going after Curly. The nasty looking cut on the side of his head was proof enough of that.

"I'm sorry."

He looked at her. "You're _sorry_?"

"Yes."

"For what? There's too fucking much there for me to know what you're apologising for."

She winced, but knew he was right. She had made so many mistakes over the years, that she didn't know where to begin with her apologies. Hell, she didn't even know who to begin with. She had made a start with Emmy that morning, but she knew that didn't mean much. Her words had been heartfelt, but she could tell Emmy hadn't thought much of them.

"I'm sorry for a lot of things," she said.

"That doesn't cut it. I haven't seen you in two years - two fucking years, Lucy Jane. And now you just turn up? Expectin' me to help you like nothing's happened?"

"That's not how it is. I swear, I don't expect you to help me - I never …" She trailed off, not sure she was about to tell the truth. She had always decided against going to Curly, despite knowing he would help her. But, maybe, instead of knowing he would help her, she had always just assumed he would. Expected that he would.

"I don't know what you want me to say. Tell me what you want an apology for and I'll give it. I owe you and everyone else too many apologies, and I'm willing to start right now if you'll just calm down."

She didn't even know where her words were coming from, only that she was back at the lake with Curly, and being honest with him there had always been a bit of a habit. And if she had to spend the next few hours with him, then maybe there were a few things they needed to get out in the open. Plus, what she had said was true - she owed a lot of people a lot of apologies, and she had to begin somewhere.

He stared at her, looking angry and frustrated and confused. It was a look she remembered well, a look she had caused too many times. But she waited him out, pretty sure this conversation would end badly.

"You were supposed to come back last summer."

She was surprised at his choice of words, but nodded anyway. "I - I did come back last summer, but … I saw Josie before I worked up the nerve to see you, and she was - she _is_ … she's a mess, Curly."

He looked her in the eyes when she said his name, and she knew she had more than a bit of explaining to do. He had been shocked to see her, he had no idea what was going on, and it was up to her to tell him. She supposed the best she could do was be completely honest.

"She's in deep with Rex Hamilton, and I didn't realise until it was too late. She thinks she loves him, but all he's doing is hurting her and, Christ, getting her high every time she asks him to. I need help, but I didn't ask you to help me. I asked Tim."

He opened his mouth and promptly closed it again. His jaw worked, and it amazed her how well she remembered his expressions. He was obviously curious about what was going on with her and the River Kings, but something else was on his mind …

"You fucked McKenna."

Her stomach swayed, a heavy sick feeling rolling over her. She took a couple of long, deep breaths before working through her words and feeling, deciding whether to go with hurt, apologetic, or angry.

"And you fucked every girl you could get your hands on after that."

A cocky, malicious smirk came across his features then. "Why the hell not? It wasn't as if I had a snotty little girlfriend I had to put up with every day."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?"

He stepped toward her. "It's your fucking fault, Lucy Jane! I came back. I apologised - was about ready to beg for forgiveness and do anything to get you back - but you'd already gone and screwed McKenna."

"Because you _dumped_ me! You broke up with me in the middle of the street, and you weren't exactly pleasant about it either."

"Ain't no way to break up with someone nicely."

"No, but you didn't have to be downright nasty while breaking my heart." She paused a moment to get her bearings. She had spent a long time feeling guilty for what happened with Roger, but doing this - finally having this argument with Curly - took a lot of that away. It made her realise she had spent just as long being angry at Curly for dumping her the way he had.

They had only spoken twice after that awful night outside her house, and both times had been civil enough. But now he was angry and she was angry and this fight was long overdue.

"You've got no one to blame but yourself for what happened after that night. You chose a gang over me. Not your brother, not your friends, a _gang_."

"The gang is my brother and friends."

"Bullshit. The gang is a group of guys all looking to score cash by doing something illegal. Tim still would've been your brother, and your friends would've still been your friends."

He glared. "You don't know shit."

"I know that I gave up _everything_ for you, and you completely screwed me over. You were so eager to be someone other than Tim's little brother, but that's all you ended up doing. It's all you are now. It's all you'll ever be!"

The silence that fell over them was heavy and sharp, and she already knew she had made a mistake. She didn't take it back, though. She was so sick of backing down to assholes, that she refused to take her words back.

"You know," he said, "for a few seconds I actually thought you'd really changed - swearin' and cussin' away - but you haven't. You're the same spoiled fucking bitch who spread her legs for some other guy the first chance she got."

The words were like a slap to the face. Tears filled her eyes, and not the angry ones that had been threatening her all day. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and headed back to the car. Curly started pacing again, and she let him. She wasn't going to fight him anymore, no matter what he said to get a rise out of her; she didn't have the patience for his self-indulgent petulance … not when she constantly had to put up with Josie's.

XXXXX

Curly lit up another smoke, knowing he would have to get more when they went out to call Tim. He'd been chain-smoking for the last hour while sitting on the hood of his car. Lucy Jane was still sitting in the front seat, but he didn't know what she was doing. He hadn't looked at her since she walked away from him.

He was confused. Not a new feeling, but also not one he enjoyed. He needed simple facts, not half-facts screamed by a girl he still couldn't quite believe was there. Because that just made it harder to pay attention. Half his mind was on whatever the fuck was going on with Tim and Lucy Jane and the River Kings - the other half was stuck on Lucy Jane. Period.

She wasn't just back in Tulsa; she was right there, in his life again.

He had been thinking over their conversation - he snorted; their _fight_ - for a while now, trying to get his head around it. He had facts, but not enough details. He knew that she _had_ come back last summer, that her sister was in trouble, and had gotten Lucy Jane into trouble, too. He knew that she needed help, hadn't expected his help, and she was who Bull and Leon had been talking about. Oh, and she hated him. Truly fucking hated him.

He had gathered that last piece of information by the tears at his last words.

He knew he should be angry about what she had said to him; he had spent a lot of time trying to get out from under Tim's thumb, and to prove he was more than just the useless fuck-up Tim had always thought he was. And he _had_ been angry, but he wasn't now - not anymore. He felt too bad about everything else she had said to be angry at her, and was now more angry at himself.

He still believed she had a lot to apologise for - fucking McKenna, being at fault for what had happened with Bull and Leon that morning, whatever she had been doing upstairs with Tim - but everything else about their past was his doing.

But that wasn't the point, and it was only part of what was pissing him off. It was what he didn't know that was frustrating. Why she needed help, if Hamilton had hurt her as well as her sister, and, the most frustrating, why she had gone to Tim. Why the fuck had she gone to Tim? He had been ready to ask it, too, but decided against it. He knew it was something that shouldn't even matter.

Of course, by not asking he had started what was probably the worst fight they'd ever had … and they'd had a lot of fights.

He sighed, finished his smoke, then climbed down from the car. She was still sitting on her seat, knees pulled up to her chest, door open. When he climbed in next to her, he left his own door open, and her legs fell to the floor. He stared at them, at the short shorts she was wearing, unable to remember her in anything other than skirts and dresses.

He stayed silent for a long minute, before finally saying, "I have some questions."

"Okay."

He had a lot of questions, most of which were so pointless he would never ask. Taking out his last smoke, he lit up and decided to concentrate on what was need-to-know.

"Only your sister's using, right? You ain't into all that shit?"

"Of course I'm not."

"Right. Okay. So what happened? You saw Josie last summer … and then what?"

"Then I just … I was too happy about seeing her to realise how bad she was. How bad the people who kept feeding her habit were. So I stuck around."

"How long were you with her before you realised how bad it was?"

"Only a couple of days. When I first saw her, she begged me to come and stay for a while, and, well, in high school I had spent so long envying her freedom that I agreed - without any thought to my parents or Harry." She paused, fidgeting in her seat. "I agreed to see the house, stay with her a couple of days, and then when I tried to leave and take her with me, Rex just … exploded."

"What happened?"

"Nothing that bad when I think about it now. Not compared to some other stuff he's done, but he wouldn't let us leave."

Curly scowled. "Why didn't you just leave by yourself?"

"Curly, I couldn't. She's my sister, and I knew she was in trouble. If I couldn't get her out of there, then I wasn't going to leave her alone. I'm sure I could've gone to my dad for help, but it would have been too late." She sighed. "As soon as Rex realised I was trying to take Josie home, he made some of his guys pack up everything in the house, and we moved. And once we moved, I was stuck. I couldn't leave without Josie even if I'd wanted to."

"Shit."

"Yeah. Then we spent months moving from house to house, in and out of Tulsa, until recently. He's been in the house I showed Tim this morning for four months now."

All this time he'd thought she had never come back last summer, but it turned out she had been in and out of Tulsa for the last year. He frowned, running a hand through his hair.

"You said he hurts your sister?"

"Yeah. He's just an awful person."

"Awful? That guy's a sick fuck."

Lucy Jane nodded in agreement. "He _only_ hurts her. She thinks he loves her, but all he ever does is hurt her."

Curly's eyes flashed. "Has he hurt you?"

"Not exactly."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

She shrugged and held her arm toward him. "Just that he's never done more than leave a couple of bruises on me. And it's usually not even him who does it."

He clenched his fists, hating how angry that made him. He wasn't into hurting girls, but it shouldn't matter even more because it was Lucy Jane. Looking at the actual bruises she was talking about didn't help matters.

"It's more emotional with me," she continued. "He likes to upset me, and let me see exactly how completely screwed up Josie is, plus …"

"Plus what?"

She swallowed. "He's never hurt me personally, but he likes to remind me he can do whatever the hell he wants, and it's usually by hurting Josie. It's like I told Tim earlier: he gets her high and lets other guys sleep with her, and he makes sure I know about it. And - and he's not afraid to let me know he will hurt me, if he decides to. I'm still trying to figure out why he never has, but he sure scares me enough that I believe he will if I make him angry enough."

"What does he do?"

"It doesn't matter."

Curly looked at her, waiting until she fleetingly met his gaze. "It matters."

"I just - I was terrified every night that someone would hold me down and get me high, just so he could have me hooked on his shit like Josie is. And, more times than I can even remember, he's promised to slice my throat open, lock me up in the basement, or let one of his guys have their way with me. I've had a loaded gun pressed to my head the few times I've made him really angry." She paused and looked at him. "I couldn't tell Tim all of this when I tried to get him to help me, because it's not just that, you know?"

He didn't know, but he nodded anyway, not trusting himself to speak.

"He just - he makes me watch when he hurts people, when he hurts Josie. And I've heard girls in the other rooms - girls who weren't high, but were with guys anyway … unwillingly." Tears filled her eyes and her whole body trembled. "He killed a guy in front of me once - beat him and beat him until he was dead, just to prove he could …"

"Fuck."

She wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry. After the crap we just said to each other, I really shouldn't be unloading this on you."

He got the feeling she hadn't had the chance to unload all of this on anyone before. She might have mentioned some of it to Tim, but not like this. He knew without having to ask that she would have been calm and composed while talking to Tim.

"He hurt Tim's ex-girlfriend," Curly said, knowing he probably shouldn't.

"Yeah, he told me."

He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing about it. "And he's hurt Josie like that? He's let other guys …"

"Yeah, he has done."

"Did he -" he swallowed heavily, "- did he hurt you like that?"

She looked at him, eyes soft. "No. He never did that to me."

The relief he felt was intense.

_No light, no light in your bright blue eyes,  
__I never knew daylight could be so violent,  
__A revelation in the light of day,  
__You can choose what stays and what fades away._

* * *

**A/N:** Feel free to point out anything that feels off. The whole chapter reads a little funny to me, haha.


	8. Never Wanted to Feel

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Heart" by The Pretty Reckless.

* * *

**C****HAPTER EIGHT**

_I__'__m falling all over myself,  
__Dying to be someone else._

As ordered, Lucy Jane stayed in the car while Curly phoned Tim. It wasn't even the first time that day that she had been made to wait in the car while a Shepard made a phone call, but at least Curly stayed in sight. His back was to her as he hung up the payphone, and she braced herself for whatever was coming as he turned and headed back toward her.

"No one answered," he said once he was back in the car.

"What? What're we suppose to do then?"

"Wait, just like Tim said. And eat. I dunno about you, but I'm fuckin' starving."

"I could eat," she admitted, realising she hadn't eaten since the night before.

Curly nodded and started the car again. As he pulled on to the road, she watched him as subtly as she could, hating everything that was going on - and not just the obvious. She hated that she'd had to go to Tim Shepard. She hated that Curly had gotten himself involved - or that she had gotten him involved, she wasn't sure which it was. And she hated how completely awful things were between them.

She didn't know about him, but she was having a hard time keeping her emotions in check. And there sure were a lot of them. She still didn't know what to feel about anything - relief that she had help, anger that said help was in the form of Curly, worry over Josie and what she was doing … there was too much going on inside of her and it was hard to keep from spilling.

Or bursting into tears. That sounded pretty appealing, too. For just one moment, all she wanted was to stop looking after Josie, stop being the strong one, and stop pretending not to be bothered by any of it.

She was sick of pretending to be okay, and now that she was around Curly - and she silently cursed that he had anything to do with it - she just wanted to let it all go. Let herself cry and he held and not deal.

"Burgers or pizza?" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and she knew he must have caught her staring.

"Uh, burgers?" she said, remembering when Curly took her out for pizza for her birthday.

"That's what I was thinkin'."

He took a left, pulling into a little drive-in burger joint. The waitress was on them immediately - all short shorts and cute hair. Lucy Jane figured she probably looked a mess next to that girl, but Curly barely glanced at the waitress.

"Whaddya want?" he asked her.

"Just a burger and Coke."

Curly made both their orders - ordering her some fries as well - and she went back to waiting. A long silence had followed their conversation about Rex and Josie and the whole unpleasant situation Lucy Jane had gotten herself into, but staying silent had never been one of their strong suits, and it seemed two years apart didn't change that.

There was no more conversation about her sister, no conversation about what had happened between them in high school, no conversation about anything. The only thing they had done for the last hour and a half was snipe at each other. About nothing. She was sure they both had plenty to snipe at each other about, but every snide comment had been on the _edge_ of important, not quite enough to hit the bone.

Not that she minded. She didn't want to get into anymore deep and meaningful conversations anytime soon. She wanted to have a good cry - though she refused to do so - but she didn't want to talk about it.

She looked at him again, the way his curls fell over his forehead, his pale hands clenched tight with tension, the familiar scowl on his face. She wanted to push the curls away from his eyes, hold his hand until he relaxed, kiss that damn scowl away …

Oh, hell. Oh, hell. _Oh, hell_.

The waitress had impeccable timing, and Lucy Jane started talking as soon as she left.

"Where do you think Tim is?" she asked, figuring that was safe conversation.

"Dunno."

"Do you think we should be worried?"

"I think _I_ should probably be worried. I think you shouldn't give a shit."

"Why wouldn't I care? He's helping me out in a really big way, and I don't want something to happen to him because of me."

Curly stopped eating and finally gave her more than a passing glance. "Are you fucking him?"

"_What_?"

"Tim. Are you fucking him?"

Anger, hurt, and a little embarrassment washed over her. She had just been thinking about kissing _him_, and now he was asking her if she was sleeping with his brother. She might have slept with Roger all those years ago, but she wasn't sure she deserved _that_.

"Curly -"

"Because I don't get it," he continued. "You never met him when we were together, but I get to Buck's today and find him coming downstairs with you not far behind."

"That doesn't mean anything." But she remembered the thoughts she used to have about Buck's, the girls at Buck's, what Curly might have been doing with those girls upstairs at Buck's in the months after they broke up.

"Why were you with him?"

"I needed help. I stole money from Rex, I snuck my sister out of his house, and we've been hiding in different motels since. I needed help."

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. After a moment, he tried again. "Well, you've really got yourself into some shit, haven't ya?"

"You think I don't know that?"

"And you went to Tim for help. I hope you realise what a fantastic mistake that'll be."

"I figured that one out when made me go with you."

He glared at her. "What about your olds? And Harry, huh? You've been hiding out with Rex this last year, and what about the little brother you're supposed to love more than anything? You've just left him alone with those controlling fucking parents of yours?"

She grit her teeth and looked away. She might have let herself occasionally think about Curly this the last year, but she had tried her best not to think about Harry. Usually Josie was enough of a distraction, but now Curly had thrown her little brother in her face, and she felt sick. She missed that boy like crazy.

"What do you even care?"

"I don't."

She sniffed. "I mean about Tim. Why would you give a damn if I was sleeping with him?"

"I wouldn't."

"Then why'd you ask."

"Just curious, I guess. Tryin' to figure out why you'd ask a guy like him to help you … and why the fuck he'd agree to help someone like you."

It was the _someone like you _that dried up any remaining tears and just made her angry.

"I offered him money," she said, eyes narrowed. "But it was once I told him it was Rex that he was really willing to help me."

"I'll bet."

"I'm not sleeping with him."

"Wouldn't give a shit if you were."

She nodded, remembering what Emmy had told her. "Yeah, I guess not. I mean, you've got a girlfriend and all."

He tensed even more and turned to look at her. "How'd you know?"

"Emmy told me."

"You've seen Emmy?"

"This morning. I didn't know who else could tell me where to find Tim … well, expect you, but I didn't figure you'd appreciate finding me at your doorstep. Probably a good thing, now that I think about it, especially if your girlfriend was there."

She couldn't figure out what the hell she was doing by bringing up his girlfriend. Maybe she wanted confirmation - which she had just received - maybe she wanted to know more, or maybe she was hoping he'd snap at her again so she could be angry with him. She kind of wanted him to snap at her. She kind of needed him to snap at her so she didn't start crying all over him, so she wouldn't spill everything to him now just as easily as she had in high school, so she didn't lean over and press her lips to his.

She needed to fight with him to keep herself calm.

"It's Maria Phillips," he said, sounding reluctant. "Ya know, from school."

"You mean … from our Spanish class?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." She turned away, knowing that not looking at him was just better right then. She had wanted him to snap at her, make her angry enough to forget everything. But this worked perfectly. Hearing who his girlfriend was - that his girlfriend was someone they had shared their only class together with - worked perfectly. After hearing that, she felt nothing but contempt for the boy who had chosen a gang over her.

XXXXX

He had to call Tim three more times before Emmy finally picked up the phone and passed it along. Over an hour had gone by since his first phone call, and most of that had been spent sitting in tense silence with Lucy Jane. The kind of tense silence that had been worse than their previous tense silence, and he was still trying to figure out what had caused it.

It could have been a number of things - _his_ asking if she was screwing Tim, _his_ bringing up Harry, or talk of _his_ girlfriend. He tapped his fingers on the phone box while he waited for Tim to get on the line, wondering if he was really as to blame as it seemed. He doubted it. As bitter as he was toward her, she was just as bitter right back. They weren't a good combination - never had been - and he just resented Tim even more for making him take her.

"Curly? Where are you?"

He stood up straighter at Tim's voice. "Some little gas station near Pacey's Pizzas."

"The kid's still with you?"

"Yeah, she's here."

"Christ, I don't know how you managed to date her for so fucking long, man. She doesn't shut the fuck up."

Curly said nothing - talking about Lucy Jane with Tim wasn't something he could ever see happening - but wondered again what the fuck the deal was with the two of them. Apparently she hadn't shut up around Tim, but she literally hadn't said a word to Curly in forty-seven minutes.

"I'm at Emmy's with George," Tim continued, "how long until you can get here."

"Maybe fifteen minutes? Emmy's ain't too far away, but I gotta make sure we ain't seen. You got a plan?"

"I got somethin'. Get here ASAP, kid."

Curly hung up without saying goodbye, and turned toward his car. Lucy Jane was still there, sitting in the front seat, not looking at him. It bothered him that she wasn't looking at him. Hell, it bothered him that she didn't seem to be effected by him at all. He managed to piss her off as well as he used to, but that was it. Nothing else about him seemed to get to her.

Not the way she was getting to him, anyway. She pissed him off, she confused him, she made him want nothing more than for things to have gone differently in high school. It was confusing and messy and it pissed him off. When she cried, all he wanted to do was yell at her, scoff in annoyance, take her in his arms and hold her …

Shaking his head at himself, he pulled out his new pack of cigarettes and headed back toward the car. Lucy Jane had fucked him over in high school, and now there was a good chance he would end up in a heap of fucking trouble with Rex Hamilton because of her. He didn't know what kind of _something_ Tim had, but it would have to be good to get Hamilton. Time and time again that asshole had been one step ahead of Tim.

He pushed that out of his mind and climbed back into the car. "Finally got Tim," he mumbled, smoke caught between his lips as he lit up. "He wants us at Emmy's now. Says he's got some kinda plan, dunno what …"

"I want to go get Josie."

"What?"

"Josie. You know, my sister? The whole reason I'm doing any of this? I want to get her and bring her with us."

"It's too dangerous," he said, blowing her off without a thought.

"The hell it is. I can't leave her there. I _won__'__t_ leave her there." And then, as if to prove her point, she climbed out of the car.

"Jesus Christ." He climbed out and faced her across the hood of the car. "Get in the fucking car, Lucy Jane."

"No."

"You think this is gonna get you the help you want? You're just bein' fuckin' difficult, now get in the damn car."

"I don't care if you don't help me! Tim's the one I asked, so I don't need your permission to get my sister."

Tim's the one she asked; she had to throw that back in his face again.

"Nah, but you need my car to get there, and you ain't getting it."

"I'll walk."

"You're bein' stupid."

"I don't care what you think. I need to make sure she's okay."

"Fucking hell, Lucy Jane." He paced the length of his car a few times, trying to decide what to do. Tim would hit the roof if he wasn't at Emmy's in the next fifteen minutes, but he couldn't very well let her walk back to whatever shitty motel she and her sister had been staying at. He paused, looked at her. "Get in the fucking car."

"Are you taking me to my sister?"

"Yes."

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

"If you take me to Emmy's I'll just walk from there."

He sighed and opened his car door. "Just get in."

Surprisingly, she did.

XXXXX

Maria Phillips was pushed to the back of Lucy Jane's mine. It wasn't that she was jealous of the girl, but there was something in the back of her head that made her ache with the knowledge that Curly was dating Maria. Maria, who was pretty much perfect, as far as Lucy Jane could remember. Tall, curvy, beautiful - everything Lucy Jane wasn't.

But she wasn't jealous. She didn't have the energy, the time, or the will to be jealous about Curly and his new, perfect girlfriend. She _wasn__'__t_ jealous … but she was just a tad bitter. She might have entertained childish thoughts of him coming to her rescue this last year, but, as far as she was concerned, that only proved just how desperate she had been to get away from Rex.

And now she was away from Rex and with Curly. Curly was with Maria, but it was Lucy Jane who was with him then, and every time she looked at him her mouth went dry, her palms became damp, and she just wanted to kiss him. That was all, just kiss him. She felt nothing but anger and frustration and resentment toward him, there were no silly fantasies of the two of them being together like there had been in high school, it was just a physical need to have his lips on her own.

And no matter how angry he made her or how angry she made him - and they'd always had an uncanny ability to infuriate each other - she still wanted him to kiss her. She didn't know if it was just being near him, as it had been in high school, or a simple need for _someone_ to make her forget.

She hopelessly hoped for the latter.

"This one?" he asked, pointing to a motel in the distance.

She nodded, heart thudding in anticipation. As frustrated and angry as she got with Josie, she was still her sister and she couldn't wait to see her after the morning she'd had - begging Tim Shepard for help, being shot at, arguing with Curly … it hadn't been the worst morning of her life, but it was definitely right up there. And now all she wanted was to get Josie, take her to Emmy's, and _know_ that she was somewhere safe.

"Christ almighty, you were pushing your luck stayin' here." He pulled the car into the parking lot in front of the motel. "Even if Hamilton didn't find ya, it's a wonder the two of you weren't hassled by the creeps who usually come here."

She rolled her eyes. "How do you know what kind of people come here?"

"Look at this place; it stinks of by-the-hour clientele." He paused smirking at her. "And, just to clarify, what I mean by that is -"

"I know exactly what you mean, thanks."

"Of course you do, you're the one who's been stayin' here."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were worried."

He turned the car off and stared out the window. "Oh yeah, real fuckin' worried."

"Going by the sincerity of your voice alone, it's perfectly fine if you want to wait in the car," she snapped, opening the door and climbing out.

She didn't even dwell on their conversation as she made her way toward the staircase, too used to it during their short time together to be bothered by it. She wasn't sure if being used to it was a good or bad thing - it made each snide remark easier to deal with, but constantly fighting with Curly was almost as exhausting as her fights with Josie the last few days.

Making her way up the stairs, she blinked in surprise to see Curly getting out of the car and following her. She really hadn't expected him to do more than sit and wait for her, maybe bitch at her a little when she got back, and she kind of preferred that idea. She had a feeling getting Josie to go with her wasn't going to be easy, and she didn't need anyone seeing the scene that was sure to come.

"You really didn't need to come with me," she muttered when he caught up to her on the landing.

"Like hell. Anyone could be in there with your sister, and I ain't just talkin' about the creeps who like to spend their lunch breaks here."

He had a point there, and she didn't know why she hadn't thought of that sooner. Secretly glad he was with her, she dug the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. It swung open and she stepped inside, Curly right behind her. She heard something behind her click and she glanced down to see a switchblade in Curly's hand. She swallowed hard, but was sure that if someone was there, they would've said something already.

It was only then she realised that no one had said anything. Not Rex, not some creep, and not Josie. Her eyes flashed to the bed she had left Josie on, finding it rumpled, before darting around the room, searching for her sister.

"Josie?" She stepped further into the room, but Curly grabbed her hand.

"Wait here."

She did as he said, waiting while he checked out the small bathroom. It only took a second for him to face her again, and she knew even before he gave a small shake of his head that her sister was gone.

"Oh, shit."

"Luce -" He hesitated before making his way toward her. Switchblade back in his pocket, he gripped her arms. "We'll find her, okay? We'll go see Tim, find out the plan, and we'll find her."

_I wish you would dare to walk me home,  
__I don__'__t wanna fight the world alone._

* * *

**A/N:** A quick update, feel free to point out any mistakes I missed :)

And a bit of shameless self-promotion. Check out my other account (link in my profile) if you're a Supernatural fan ;)


	9. Never said Thank You, Never said Please

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Please Bleed" by Ben Harper.

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

_Please bleed,  
__So I know that you are real,  
__So I know that you can feel._

"We shouldn't be here."

Curly grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him. "C'mon. We don't have a choice and you know it."

"But Josie -"

"Will be fine, okay?"

"You don't know that," she said, yanking her arm out of his grip.

He stopped in the hallways outside Emmy's. "Christ, Luce, whaddya want me to say? That we should go get her? Just head on over to Hamilton's house, knock on the door, and ask for her back? Yeah, sounds like a fuckin' super idea."

Lucy Jane crossed her arms over her chest and didn't look at him. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and figured maybe he just ought to keep his trap shut. Even now, when he knew she was worried about her sister - and with fair reason - nothing he said came out right. He sounded too mean, too cold, too uncaring …

Staring at her, he realised he was supposed to be uncaring. He was supposed to not care.

"I'm just worried," she muttered, and he sighed again.

"I know."

"And Emmy won't want me here. She made it perfectly clear this morning that she wasn't pleased to see me. She'll be even more annoyed at what I've brought into her apartment."

"She don't have a choice about it. If she wants you safe then she'll deal with it."

"I really don't think she cares."

"Fuck. Stop with the pity-party, will ya?"

"Hey!"

"Look, you can either stand out here and continue bitching about things that just ain't goin' right, or come inside and here what Tim has to say about gettin' your sister back."

That's right - mean, cold, and uncaring. When he spoke to her like that, the odd feelings that kept creeping up inside of him didn't matter so much. They didn't seem so real. The urge to make her feel better disappeared. Kind of.

Looking at her, he still couldn't believe she was there. His shock at seeing her had worn off, but every time he looked at her he had to grit his teeth. Whether to keep from saying something nasty or stupid, he wasn't sure. At that moment, after the last four hours with her, he wasn't sure what might come out of his mouth next.

"C'mon," he said again. He headed toward Emmy's door, knowing she wouldn't take off on her own to find her sister, despite her earlier claims. The fight had gone out of her; now she was pretty much just sulking.

She caught up with him as he knocked on the door, and he couldn't help the words that spilled out of his mouth.

"Try and stay calm, okay? We'll find her. I promise."

She nodded just as Emmy's voice called out, asking who was there.

"It's us," he said, and the door opened seconds later.

Lucy Jane had been right about Emmy - she did not look happy to have them there. He wondered if it was Lucy Jane she wasn't happy about, or having a her apartment turn into a gang hideout. Probably both. He didn't have time for her, though, and pushed his way past her, looking for Tim. He was sitting at the dinner table, Danny on one side of him, George on the other. Maybe George was a whole other reason for Emmy's bad mood.

"'Bout fucking time you got here." Tim snapped, standing up.

"We had to make a stop."

"To where? Fucking Kansas? You told me fifteen minutes."

"Lucy Jane wanted to go get her sister."

"Yeah? Well, where is she?"

Lucy Jane spoke up. "She's gone. I don't know if she left by herself or if someone found her, but I don't doubt she'll be with Rex."

"That's too bad." Tim stared at her for a long moment before looking at Curly. "You gonna sit, or what?"

"Wait." Lucy Jane stepped forward, and Curly was happy to see there was a bit of fight left in her after all. "That's too bad? Are you kidding me? My sister isn't just in trouble - she's missing! And all you have to say is_ that__'__s too bad_?"

"Somethin' else you expected me to say?"

"Yeah, actually. An idea or two on how to get her back would be nice."

"Look, kid. Your sister ain't my problem, okay? She could've helped us out, but now she's gone, ain't she?" Tim raised an eyebrow, and when Lucy Jane said nothing, continued. "You wanted me to deal with Hamilton, and that's what I'm doin'."

Curly stared at Tim, complete understanding running through him. He wasn't doing this to help out Lucy Jane or her sister; this was an excuse to take out his own revenge on Hamilton, nothing more. He didn't give a shit about anyone else, and Curly couldn't figure out why it had taken him this long to figure it out.

"Son of a _bitch_." Lucy Jane stepped forward and shoved Tim. It barely moved him, but Tim looked surprised as hell anyway. "You're supposed to be helping me! That's why I came to you in the first place, remember?"

"Christ almighty, kid -"

"Yes I want you to deal with Rex, but I also want my sister back. Safe. Tell me you're gonna get her back. Tell me she won't get hurt in whatever it is you plan on doing to Rex."

Tim looked at Curly. "Call her off, will ya? I don't need this shit."

"I'm not just some dog you can _call off_." She pushed him again, and Curly couldn't help but smirk. "Tell me you're gonna keep my sister safe."

"I'll do what I can, but my guess is she took off by her own choice. Ain't much I can do to get her out of there if she wants to be there."

"But -"

"But nothin'. Your sister made a stupid decision in goin' back to Hamilton, and it ain't my problem whether or not she gets out alive."

A heavy silence followed, everyone staring at Tim, who just stared unwaveringly at Lucy Jane. Curly stood, waiting for someone to say something, anything. He was surprised when he was the one who finally spoke up.

'You're fuckin' kiddin' me, right?"

Tim looked at him. "What?"

The bruise around his eye was suddenly throbbing in a distinct reminder of his fight with Tim the night before, but he took a step forward anyway, fists clenched.

"You're doin' this just because of Shelley, ain't ya? You don't give a shit about anything else."

Tim's whole face darkened at the mention of Shelley, and the silence in the room grew thicker.

"I don't know what you're fuckin' talking about," he finally said. "Sit down and shut up so I can tell you the plan."

"You've been gone for a year, asshole; don't think you can just come back and tell me what to do."

His hands were shaking. He and Tim had fought plenty over the years - both verbally and physically - but this was different. He was finally going to tell Tim where he could shove it, and whatever bruises he ended up with afterwards would be just fucking perfect and worth it.

Tim smirked. "Finally grew some balls while I was away, huh, kid?"

"Fuck you."

"Whatever, Curly. You can bitch all you want - don't change the fact that _your_ girl came to _me_ for help, does it?" Without another word to Curly, Tim faced Lucy Jane again. "You want your sister back you gotta do what I tell ya. Like I said, she could've helped us, but now she's gone and it's all on you."

"I'll do whatever it takes."

Curly frowned. "The hell you will."

"Shut up, Curly." They said it at the same time - his brother and his ex girlfriend - and without a single glance in his direction.

"I'll do whatever you need me to do," she said again.

"Your sister could've been what we needed to get Hamilton alone, but now that I think about it, you'll probably do a better job - last thing we need is a junkie who'd rather score than help us out."

"She - she was bait?"

"Well, that's one way of putting it, and now it's up to you."

Curly's whole body tensed, and he was speaking before he knew it. "You're such a fucking shit, Tim. Do you even realise what you're saying?"

"Curly -"

"Shut it, Lucy," he snapped, glaring at her. "He doesn't give a shit about you or your sister. He's doin' this to get back at Hamilton for what happened with Shelley - you and your sister are just his excuse to be able to do it without Shelley being pissed at him."

"Curly, shut your fuckin' trap."

"Deny it, man." Curly stepped toward him. "Tell me you'll do whatever you've gotta do to bring her sister home with you - because you know that's what she wants from you."

"You didn't seem to give a shit about what she wanted when you chose me and the gang over her."

More silence. More heavy, thick silence that was only broken when Curly's fist slammed into Tim's jaw. Tim was expecting it - of course he was fucking expecting it - and hit back just as quickly. But he wasn't expecting the blade Curly whipped out and pressed to his throat without a second thought. His hand gripped at Tim's t-shirt so tightly that his fingers ached, and he glared at him.

"Curly."

Everyone said his name - Lucy Jane, George, Danny, Emmy - and out of the corner of his eye he could see everyone take a quick step towards him. But Tim didn't say anything or go anywhere or do a damn thing. He just stared and waited.

"You're such an asshole, Tim."

"Only speakin' the truth, kid."

"You don't know shit."

"I know you threw that broad away once before, so I don't see what the problem is now."

Curly scoffed. He wanted to say something - to tell Tim how he had gone to Lucy Jane the night after dumping her, begging her to take him back - but couldn't bring himself to mention it. Couldn't bring himself to admit that she had hurt him just as much as he had hurt her.

"You should've just pissed off somewhere else when you got out, Tim. No one wants you here. Not me, not George, not Danny … hell, I bet even Shelley don't wanna see ya."

Tim's eyes went cold and Curly knew he'd gone too far. "Yeah, but your girl seems to want me round."

He pressed the blade a little harder against Tim's skin, wanting nothing more than to just keep going without any of the repercussions. Because he knew, no matter how angry he was with Tim right then, he'd regret whatever it was he might want to do.

"Curly." This time it was only Lucy Jane who said his name and stepped forward. Her small hand gripped his left arm, tugging softly until he let go of Tim's shirt. "Just stop, Curly."

Jaw clenched, he stepped back and put his blade in his back pocket. "You know what? Fuck the both of ya." And with that, he left Emmy's apartment.

XXXXX

Lucy Jane watched the door slam closed before turning to glare at Tim. "What the hell was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"You know, all this time I assumed you were different to Rex, but you're acting like a real asshole."

He pushed past her to sit back at the table, looking no worse for wear after having a switchblade pressed against his throat. "I'm nothin' like that fuck, and if you want my help you'll do well to remember it."

She was too angry, too shocked, too confused to bother thinking up a reply. Instead, she turned and headed for the door. Josie was still missing, but it was Curly she desperately wanted to find. She had never seen him so angry - not when she was dating Roger, not when she refused to tell people about the two of them, not even when she told him she'd had sex with Roger.

He had been furious the night he had come to her - the night Tim seemed to have no idea about - but this was something else entirely, and she didn't know what to think. She spent the walk down three flights of stairs not sure what to say or do once she found him, before finally wondering if she would ever find him. He'd taken off pretty fast, and he could be long gone by now.

Not sure how that thought made her feel, she made her way out of the apartment block and back into the suffocating warmth. She found him outside, sitting on the garden ledge, and smoking a cigarette. He looked pissed off, and she was wary of going near him. Silently reminding herself that she had dealt with much worse than Curly Shepard this last year, she walked over and sat next to him, the heat from the brick ledge burning into the backs of her legs.

"Hey."

He grunted in reply, so she decided to skip the small talk.

"What was that all about up there?"

"Don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Of course you do. Curly, I know you didn't want to be dragged into all this, and I - I'm sorry that you were, but … you held a knife to your brother's throat!"

He scoffed. "C'mon, Luce. You know as well as I do that I wasn't gonna use it."

"Sure seemed like you wanted to."

"Well, if anyone deserves it …"

Staring at him, she knew he believed his words as much as she did - which wasn't a whole lot. After the things they had talked about that day, everything she had told him about Rex, they both knew Tim didn't even compare. But she said nothing, just continued to stare at him until he sighed and looked at her.

"This isn't gonna end well."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Everything I said up there was true, Lucy." He flicked his cigarette away, scowling deeply. "Tim doesn't give a shit about you or your sister. He wants Hamilton dead, and if you and Josie end up the same way in the process … well, he won't see much wrong with that."

"Really, though? He'd be willing to risk innocent lives just to get back at Rex?" Even as she voiced her doubt, a part of Lucy Jane believed every word Curly was saying. He might not even be on the same wavelength as Rex, but it was obvious he'd do whatever it took to get his revenge.

"He ain't been the same since Shelley got hurt. I mean, he's been away most of the time since, but those few months before he got arrested … nothin's gonna get in his way this time."

"This time?"

"You know he only just got out yesterday, right? He went away for a year on charges of weapon possession. I still don't really know what happened, but he was found in his car outside Hamilton's place. Gun in hand."

"He was gonna try."

Curly nodded. "And I know Tim; this time he refuses to fail."

"Good."

He sighed. "There's other ways to go about this, you know?"

"There's not."

"Of course there is!"

"Like what, Curly? Go to the police? My dad?" She glared at him. "Rex has too many cops working for him, and there's not a damn thing my dad can do. There's nothing anyone can do but Tim."

Curly's jaw clenched like he wanted to say something, but he pulled out another smoke and didn't say a word. The sat in silence, just as they had been doing between fights all afternoon, and Lucy Jane really wished he would say something. Even if it meant more fighting.

But when he did speak, she wasn't prepared for the words that came out.

"You're gonna get yourself killed."

She sucked in a breath. "Stop it."

"It's true. If you don't get yourself killed, then Tim will manage it for you. He's putting you in danger and he doesn't care if you come out dead or alive."

"_Stop_."

He said nothing else, and she pressed her hands into the ledge until the corner began to dig into her palms. It was one thing to think it herself, it was a whole other to have someone else say it. Especially someone who could be right. Curly wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what Rex was capable of.

She grit her teeth, and her body tensed as it hit her that they were sitting in broad daylight where anyone could see them. All Rex or Bull or Leon had to do was drive past and it would all be over. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid; she was constantly on edge - with Josie missing, Curly pulling a knife on his brother, and knowing she would have to face Rex again at some stage - and being out in the open wasn't going to help anything.

She looked at Curly, knowing she had to wrap this up and, if she could, do so without starting another argument. "You're not being fair."

"Why the hell would I be? I got dragged into this bullshit mess, after all."

"You're right." She looked away, feeling awful. "None of this has been fair to you."

"Luce …" Her name came out as a strangled breath, and he finally turned his head to look at her. "What do I have to say to convince you not to do this?"

The intensity to his voice, his words, shocked her, and she fought the trembling of her hands. She had no answer, no words for him to repeat, no idea what to say or do. So instead she pulled her gaze away from his and stared at the ground.

"I need to get my sister back."

Out of her corner of her eye she saw him shake his head and flick away the butt of his cigarette. "Yeah, whatever."

She stood. "I have to get back inside. I - uh … I'll understand if you don't come back up."

After waiting a beat or two longer than necessary for an answer that she knew wasn't going to come, she headed back inside and up the stairs.

_The damage that you__'__ve done,  
__Who have I become,  
__To myself I am numb._

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! It's much appreciated :)


	10. Turn Me Blue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "300 M.P.H Torrential Outpour Blues" by The White Stripes.

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

_I have a woman,  
__Says come and watch me bleed,  
__And I__'__m wondering how I can do that,  
__And still give her everything she needs._

The mood was still tense when she got back to the apartment. After opening the door for her, Emmy muttered something about needing a shower before taking off into the bedroom. George was sitting at the counter, gaze on the door Emmy had just closed, and Tim and Danny were sitting at the table. It seemed to Lucy Jane that their conversation wasn't much different to the one they'd had at Buck's that morning. Neither looked all too pleased with the other.

Despite that, she needed to hear whatever it was Tim had to say. If he had a plan, then she wanted in on it. With Curly's words still ringing in her ears, she took the seat to Tim's left. There was nothing Curly, Tim, or anyone could say to convince her not to do this. She needed to get Josie back, and whatever danger she was about to get herself into would be worth it if Josie came out alive and well.

"Your little lovers' tiff over?" Tim asked.

She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but she had to force herself not to give him one. "You said you have a plan?"

"I do, but I wasn't sure you'd wanna know about it. Half expected Curly to talk ya out of it, to be honest."

"He's not even here, in case you hadn't noticed."

Tim grinned. "Oh, I noticed. Probably for the best, really. Can't have him changing your mind."

"Cut him some slack, man," Danny said. "And you know as well as I do that it'd be good to have him around for this."

"Whatever. Jack and Henry are more than willing to do whatever I ask." Tim's face darkened. "More willing than either you or Curly are, anyway."

"Considering the shit you wanna pull with his girl, I can't blame Curly for bailing. I'd do the same if you were tryin' to use Sylvia this way."

"Uh - I'm not his girl."

"I get the feelin' you're about ready to bail anyway," Tim said, ignoring Lucy Jane.

"Well what'd you expect? You've been gone a year, man. I know this grudge you got against Hamilton ain't gonna go away anytime soon - and with fair fuckin' reason - but the rest of us haven't spent the last year planning on killin' him."

"Well maybe you should've been!"

Despite the topic of conversation, Lucy Jane almost felt like she was watching a couple of girls. She's seen guys fight before, but it was always with their fists - _never_ with their words. They were acting like Lucy Jane and her friends had in high school … only with much more dangerous conversation.

She coughed slightly at the awkward silence. "I'm not his girl," she repeated.

Tim frowned at her. "Damn, kid, no one cares."

She cared. _Maria_ probably cared. With everything going on, that was just another thing that had been pushing at her brain all day - Tim was helping her, Bull and Leon had shot at her, Josie was missing, Curly was dating Maria Phillips.

Seemed somewhat unimportant in the larger scheme of things.

"Look," Tim said, ignoring her and talking to Danny once again. "I know things are different now, what with Syl being knocked up, but -"

"Sylvia's knocked up?"

Lucy Jane jumped at the voice, having not even heard the knock at the door, or noticed George get up to open it. She looked at Curly, taking in how calm he seemed now. She was willing to bet he had emptied his new packet of cigarettes while outside, though.

"Thought you'd run off?" Tim said.

"Syl's really pregnant? You're havin' a kid?" Curly asked, staring directly at Danny.

"Uh-huh."

"Wow. That's really cool."

She finally tore her gaze away from Curly to find Danny grinning like a fool. She smiled, too. It was nice, hearing that his girlfriend was pregnant, considering all the awful conversations she'd had that day.

Of course Tim had to go and ruin that.

"It's also why he's bound to do a half-assed job."

"Shit, Tim," Curly said, taking a seat next to Danny. "Do you have to spoil everything good?"

Another awkward silence filled the room as Tim and Curly stared each other down, and Lucy Jane wondered just how many more of those she was going to have to sit through. She was even tempted to speak up herself, but Danny saved her from having to do so. He stood and looked at Tim.

"Look, you're out to get Hamilton, I get it, okay? Fuck, man, if he'd done that to Syl, I would've …" He shook his head. "I get it, I do, but … that's your life mission, not mine. And I'm sorry, I'll do what I can to help ya out - I got you the guns, I got you the guys - but I'm not getting involved. My girl comes before you, man."

Lucy Jane fidgeted, wondering why all guys couldn't be like that. Why _Curly_ couldn't have been like that two years ago. She glanced at him and caught him staring at her. He looked away, but she was sure there was a hint of guilt in his eyes.

But, while she might have been feeling a bit of awe towards Danny, and while Curly might have been feeling guilty at what Danny had done that he'd never managed, Tim just seem pissed off.

"You swore," he said.

"What?"

He stood. "You swore. When I told you what he'd done to Shelley, you both swore you'd help me."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"And now you're goin' back on that?"

"Yeah, I guess I am. Sorry, Tim, but I gotta be there for Syl." And without another word, Danny clapped Curly on the shoulder and left Emmy's.

Feeling a strong urge to get as far away from Tim as possible, she looked up at him, trying not to cringe at his obvious anger. He was glaring at the door, and the last thing she wanted was that glare directed at her. She wasn't sure how she felt when he turned it onto Curly.

"In or out, Curly? Make up your mind right now, and don't you fucking dare change it later."

Curly nodded slowly, staring at the table as his thumb nail absently scratched over it. He was silent for a few moments before looking at Lucy Jane.

"In."

XXXXX

In. _In_. he was fucking in and he didn't know if it was the worst decision of his life. Although he was pretty sure it was. They all knew what Hamilton was capable of, and he knew as well as Tim did that one of them or both of them or all of them might not live until morning. The smart move would be to leave and never look back. The smarter move would have been to tell Tim he was out.

But every time he thought about either of those, he'd think of Lucy Jane, because every time he thought about being in or out, he thought of two things: if he was out, he'd be safe and away from Tim; if he was in, he'd be with Lucy Jane.

Five hours with her and she was already fucking up his mind.

He ignored her as they sat at the table together, but could feel her gaze on him every now and then. He wished Tim would hurry up on the phone - he'd take orders from his brother over odd looks from his ex any day.

And, when Lucy Jane opened her mouth to speak, he decided he'd rather talk to George and feel guilty than talk to Lucy Jane and feel anything. He stood, pretending he didn't see her watching him, and walked over to his best friend.

He was sitting at the kitchen counter, still staring at Emmy's closed bedroom door. Curly was pretty sure he'd do that until she came back out, unless he did something. The guilt he knew he'd feel was suddenly overwhelming.

"She still not talkin' to you, huh?"

"Nope. And you'd think with everything goin' on …" He trailed off and shook his head. "I'm staring to think I said somethin' offensive in my sleep, ya know? Because I can't think of a single damn thing I might have said or done wrong."

Curly took a breath. "Yeah, uh, I might've said something."

George finally tore his gaze off the door and looked at Curly. "What're you talking about?"

"I dunno … I just - it was a few days before Tim was due home. And I was drunk and pissed off and … you know how I get."

"I know you get drunk and pissed off at the world and everything that's gone wrong in it, but I don't know what that has to do with Emmy."

"Nothing. It has nothing to do with Emmy, and everything to do with -" He broke off, jaw clenched tight.

"Right. Everything to do with Lucy Jane."

Curly quickly glanced around the room - Tim was still on the phone, Lucy Jane was still sitting at the table, and it was clear neither of them were even trying to listen in. He clenched his fists and glared at George. "I just said some stuff I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

"Sorry ain't gonna cut it, man. You gotta tell me what you said so I can fix the fucking mess you've made."

"Look, I was drunk - really drunk - and I told her not to count on the two of you lasting, because history's already shown us that girls like her don't stick around with guys like us."

George shook his head. "Shit, Curly, is that what you think? Money, where we lived, what our parents earned - it had nothing to do with why you and Lucy Jane didn't work. You and Lucy Jane didn't work because you both fucked it up."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah, of course. We both screwed up, and I know you and Emmy ain't like that.

"Then why'd you say it?"

He shrugged and gave a sheepish grin. "I was drunk."

"No kiddin'."

"Look, I know it doesn't mean much now, but I regretted it the moment I was sober enough to wish I hadn't said it. Sometimes I just get drunk and angry and … remember things I wanna forget."

"Like Lucy Jane."

He said nothing. As far as he was concerned, he'd admitted too much already. A hell of a lot more than he had ever wanted to. George might have been the only one who paid any attention to how messed up he was after everything with Lucy Jane ended, but that didn't mean he had to go spilling his heart to him.

"Shit, Curly, I know it took a while, but I thought you were over her."

"I am."

"You're with Maria now."

"I know that."

"But does Maria know that, right now, you're with Lucy Jane?"

Curly said nothing, he didn't know what he could say to that other than the truth. And the truth wasn't something he was willing to admit. It wasn't like he was keeping it from Maria, but he hadn't told her either. He purposely hadn't told her. There was nothing stopping him from picking up the phone and calling her at work except for his own choice not to.

Before he could think that one through too much, Tim hung up the phone and called for him. He looked at George, waiting for the punch he knew he deserved.

"I really am sorry I screwed things up for you," he said.

"Hopefully I can convince her you're wrong."

"Well, if you can't, then get Tim to try. He's full of stories about me screwin' up."

"Aren't we all?" George grinned. "I was gonna ask her to marry me, you know?"

Curly matched his grin with one of his own. "Oh yeah? Well you better get onto that before she kicks us all out."

George headed for the bedroom, and Curly was once again glad his best friend didn't have much of a temper. In saying that, he expected to get his ass kicked if Emmy didn't come around.

XXXXX

"Word around town has it that Hamilton's missing a car." Tim looked at her, and she was shocked to see his eyes were almost twinkling. "You know anything about that?"

She shrugged, not willing to admit anything.

"I'll take that as a yes then. Makes sense, I guess - you and your sister had to get out of there somehow."

She fidgeted under the stare of both Shepard boys. "Anyway, shouldn't we be talking about the plan?"

"We are," Tim said. "See, all this time I thought the only thing Hamilton could possibly want more than you and the money you took, was me and any chance he could get to screw with me. Turns out he's pretty damn upset about his precious car being taken. You got any idea why?"

She looked at him, surprised to see he was being serious. He wasn't just being a sarcastic asshole and getting at her for not telling him something important; he genuinely wanted to know what was going on. She stared at her hands, not sure how to answer.

"C'mon, kid, tell me what you found. Where was it? Where the spare should be? Under a fake floor? Inside the seats?"

Her head snapped up and she looked at him again, this time knowing she shouldn't be surprised by his words. Of course he would know about this kind of stuff.

"Inside the seats, huh?"

"A bad stitch job had come loose." She shrugged. "I got curious."

"What'd ya find?"

"Drugs. Weed and coke, mostly, and some other stuff I'm not experienced enough to identify by sight."

"Money?"

"A bit."

"Weapons?" This time it was Curly who asked.

She shook her head. "None that I saw."

Tim sighed. "Damn, kid, why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I? You might've been the only person I could go to for help, but that doesn't mean I trusted you enough to give away all my secrets. I had to have something to fall back on in case you fell through."

Curly snorted then. She frowned at him and he glared back, but Tim just kept on talking.

"Where's the car now?"

She looked back at him. "Hidden."

"Hidden _where_?"

"At the lake."

"Christ, it's like pulling teeth." He looked at Curly. "No wonder you came back from an afternoon with her in such a shitty mood."

Curly ignored him and stared at Lucy Jane. "Where at the lake, Luce?"

"Maybe a couple of miles from where we, uh, where we were today."

"I can find it," he told Tim.

"Good. You know what kinda car it is, kid?"

She might not have known for sure what kind of car she bought that morning, but she sure as hell knew what kind of car she took from Rex. It was his personal favourite, after all, and after finding what she had in the seats, she now knew why.

"A Corvette. It's blue."

"Thought so. And from what I hear he's willing to do anything to get it back."

"Even give me Josie?"

"Maybe. He might be willing to exchange his girl for his car. Or at least pretend to be willing."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that no matter what, we're walking into some dangerous shit, kid. There ain't no guarantee everything's gonna go as smoothly as you'd like."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at that. It seemed to her that Tim only thought of her as the naïve Soc girl who had dated his brother. Despite what she had told him she knew about Rex, he still seemed to think she was expecting sunshine and daisies.

"I'm not going into this with my eyes closed. I know as well as anyone what he's capable of."

"I hope so, because the moment you make contact with him, he's gonna be gunning for ya."

"Wait, why do I have to contact him?"

Tim grinned. "Because if I do it, we won't get any talking done. He might be pissed at you, but at least he'll listen. All he'll do once he hears my voice is threaten me, and then I'll threaten him back, and we'll get into it over the phone … you know how this kinda thing goes."

He was still grinning and she found it kind of unnerving. Though excited at the thought of being rid of Rex, she was terrified at what was to come. Tim seemed to be looking forward to it.

"So you want me to call him?" She couldn't deny that the idea of even talking to Rex over the phone terrified her.

"Yeah. You tell him you'll give him back his car and the money you took. All you want is your sister."

Curly spoke up. "You really think he'll go for that? From what Lucy Jane said, he's been pretty insistent on screwing her sister up. Kinda makes me wonder if he wants her around for a reason, you know?"

Tim shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

"Curly's right, though," she said. "Josie seems to think Rex loves her - which he clearly doesn't - but she's more than just another user to him. The only time he lets her out of his sight is when he's doing business or letting some other guys have her."

"Which definitely doesn't scream love," Curly muttered.

"How'd you get her out of there then?" Tim asked.

"He had business in Catoosa, and the guys he left in charge of us decided it was the perfect time to test out the new merchandise. The were too wasted to notice us gone, and Josie was too wasted to put up a fight."

"I'm sure Hamilton was thrilled to find you two gone when he got home," Tim said, grinning again.

Even Lucy Jane had to smile at that. She'd thought about his reaction to finding them gone more than once, and it scared the crap out of her. He'd be furious and they all knew it. But Tim seemed delighted - there really was no other word for it - at the thought of Rex being that pissed off, and that somehow made the whole thing that little less scary.

"So Lucy Jane calls him, and then what?" Curly asked.

"And then she plans to meet up with him to exchange the car for her sister. And when they meet, we'll be waiting."

_Well there__'__s three people in my head that have the answer,  
__And one of them__'__s got to be you,  
__But you__'__re holding tight to it, the answer,  
__Singin__'__ these three-hundred mile per hour outpour blues._

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading and reviewing. I absolutely appreciate it :)


	11. Sweet Memory will Die

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors.

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

_Into this house we__'__re born,  
__Into this world we__'__re thrown._

"I thought we were going to get pizza?" Lucy Jane asked fifteen minutes later.

"We are," Tim said from the driver's seat.

"Then why are we heading toward the lake … oh. You wanna see the car."

Curly glanced back at her, and he looked surprised that she was surprised.

"You got it, kid," Tim said.

"But, why? I mean, there's nothing to see."

"Nothing to see, huh? If you consider a seat stuffed full of drugs and cash nothing to see, then I don't wanna know what you've witnessed this last year."

She rolled her eyes at that, definitely not wanting to get into the things she had seen the last year. She had already told both Curly and Tim more than enough, and she didn't want to get back into that conversation. It had helped her get their help, sure, but she couldn't see how it would help them look at a damn car.

"How far in are we going?" Tim asked, turning into the dirt road.

"I'll let you know when we're getting close," she said, glancing at the back of Curly's head. It felt weird, driving down _this_ road, sitting in that _back_ seat of a car, having _Tim_ as company. It just wasn't right. It was supposed to be her and Curly. Only her and Curly.

She pushed that thought away, remind herself she needed to think of what was happening right then. The past was the past, the future was uncertain, she only had the present.

But she still noticed Curly shift uncomfortably in his seat as they passed the turn off to their spot. No, not _their_ spot. Just _a_ spot they had both spent time at. Spent time together …

Who was she kidding? She had lost her virginity to him there.

"Turn right up here," she muttered, trying to ignore the thoughts in her head, "then right again."

"I still can't believe you took his Corvette," Curly said.

"You sound impressed."

"I'm impressed by anyone who's got the balls to take Hamilton's favourite car," Tim said, not giving Curly the chance to answer. But Curly glanced back at her again anyway, and in the dark car, she wasn't entirely sure if that was a wink he gave her.

She fidgeted and pointed, although neither of them could see her hand. "Just there."

Tim slowed the car to a stop and squinted through the windshield. "I can barely see it."

"I told you I hid it."

"Not bad," Curly said, nodding slowly.

"No bad at all. You know, kid, you're not as useless as you originally led me to believe."

"Gee," she said, as they all climbed out of the car. "Thanks so much."

They walked over to the car, and she could see just how impressed they both were. She hadn't lied; she had hidden the car and hidden it damn well. The light blue paint job could barely be seen in the middle of the day, let alone as the sun was going down. Sticks, leaves, and mud covered it, and she almost looked forward to seeing Rex's face when he saw it.

Almost.

"Why are we here again?"

"Like I said, we're gonna be here waiting for Hamilton tomorrow. You're sister might be back at the motel now for all we know, but, either way, we'll be here in the morning." He turned on the spot, taking a look around the place. "It makes more sense for us to at least have a general idea of the place. Hamilton's coming in blind, but I wanna make sure me and Curly know where we are. And what we're dealing with."

"You mean the car."

Tim grinned. "Gotta know exactly how much shit he's got hidden in there."

"You want the key?"

"You've _got_ the key?"

She shrugged and dug the keys out of her shorts pockets, making sure she grabbed the ones for the Corvette and not the ones she found in the car she and Tim had stolen earlier that day. "What else was I going to do with it?"

"She's got a point," Curly said, while Tim just stared at her. She handed him the keys.

"I know how you and your sister got out of there, but how'd you manage to do it with his Corvette? He loves this thing."

She nodded. "He loves it so much that he leaves it at home. He doesn't trust the people he does business with enough to take the Corvette, so …"

"Huh."

"Where else did you check? Curly asked. "Just the trunk, floors, and seats?"

She suddenly felt very stupid. "No. I only checked the seats, I - I didn't think to look anywhere else."

They both stared at her silently, before hurrying to the car. She wondered what else they planned on finding, and if it would help them in anyway. Tim unlocked the car and threw the keys at Curly.

"Check the trunk."

Lucy Jane stood back as they searched the car, waiting for them to either find something new and interesting, or simply find what she had told them about.

"Anything?" Tim called, coming back empty handed. Looking past him and into the car, she could see he had dug through the front seat and found exactly what she had told him about.

Curly popped out from behind the trunk, looking pale even in the dim light. "Money. Lots and lots of money."

"How much?"

"I dunno, man, but …"

When he couldn't finish his answer, both Lucy Jane and Tim made their way to him. Tim let out a low whistle as he took it all in, and she had to push her way between them to see what they could see.

There was money, alright. Lots and lots of money, and lots and lots of money covered in blood.

"Ugh." She pressed a hand to her stomach. "I think I need a shower."

XXXXX

Emmy's apartment was nice. Definitely not the kind of nice her parents would want her to have, but certainly comfortable. Lots of windows that had let in the stetting sun, beautifully soft furniture to at least try and relax in, and the plushest carpet Lucy Jane had felt in far too long.

If it came to it, after everywhere she had lived in the last year, she would be quite happy to crash on Emmy's floor.

But, at that very moment, what she loved most about the apartment was the shower. The hot, steamy, high-pressured shower. Sighing in satisfaction - and feeling cleaner than she had in months - she turned the shower off and climbed out. There was a knock at the door as she wrapped a delightfully fluffy towel around her.

"It's me," Emmy called.

Lucy Jane opened the door of the en-suite bathroom and walked into the bedroom. "Thanks for that," she said. "I knew I'd missed a good shower, but that was something else."

"You should've had a bath, Luce. I'm a firm believer that everything awful seems much less awful after a long, hot bath."

She had actually eyed up the bath for a good ten minutes before deciding on the shower. As nice as it sounded, she just couldn't afford to be _that_ relaxed. Not when the following morning was going to begin with a phone call to Rex.

"Anyway," Emmy continued, "I brought you some clothes to wear while yours are in the dryer."

It wasn't a big deal, but she felt genuinely touched by Emmy's kindness. Especially considering everything that was now going on in this nice apartment of hers. She took the clothes from Emmy and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Look, I'm really sorry about all of this. You got home to suddenly find your place as the current gang hang-out, and it was all my idea."

Emmy sat with her. "I knew you were in trouble, Lucy Jane, but I never expected anything like this."

"I didn't want you to know, Emmy, I swear. The last thing I wanted was for anyone else to be caught up in this, and now you and George and Curly …

"Speaking of Curly …"

Lucy Jane ignored the tight feeling in her stomach. "What about him?"

"Well, he's here."

"I know."

"Despite everything, he's here."

"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at."

Emmy sighed. "C'mon, Lucy. He has a girlfriend, and he's clearly not afraid of standing up to Tim anymore - he could leave anytime he wanted - but he's still here. He's still here, helping you."

"I know."

"It has to mean something."

She shook her head. "Whatever you think it means, you're wrong, okay? Like you said, he has a girlfriend."

"But he's here, with you."

"He's just trying to be helpful."

"That's bull, and you know it as well as I do. He knows how dangerous tomorrow's going to be - we all do - but he hasn't left yet. He could get seriously hurt tomorrow … you'd think he'd choose to spend the night before that with the girl he loves."

The tight feeling in her stomach became a little sick. "He loves Maria?"

"I didn't say anything about Maria."

It was all too much - the whole day, the plan for tomorrow, what Emmy was implying … she didn't want to deal with it and wasn't entirely sure she could. Not all of it, anyway. She had to forget about the day, try and ignore the things Emmy was making her think, and concentrate only on tomorrow.

Or even something much easier.

"Did you and George sort things out? I hope it's not because of me and my mess that you're fighting."

Emmy paused a moment before answering. "It's not. And we're okay now. Actually, we're really good."

"I'm glad."

"He asked me to marry him."

"What?"

"Yeah." Emmy had the biggest smile Lucy Jane had ever seen on her face. "I don't wanna go telling everyone until tomorrow's over, but … well, who knows what tomorrow will bring? And I really wanted to tell you."

"Emmy, that's - that's really great. I'm really happy for you."

And she was. Maybe a little jealous that everything had worked out so well for her best friend, but still happy for her. Even if it did make her wonder what could have been had she and Curly worked out

She squeezed Emmy's hand, once again wanting something easier to think about. "I'm glad you told me, too. I know I was terrible when I just up and left last summer, and I really am sorry."

"I know, Lucy Jane. And it's okay. I understand now."

Emmy leaned over and hugged her then. Everything was still a mess, but she felt like, if she survived whatever tomorrow would bring, her friendship with Emmy might be back on track. Fighting back the lump in her throat, she hugged Emmy back. She had stayed away from the bath, but she felt more relaxed than she had in a long time.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, pulling away.

"Anything." Emmy seemed much more obliging now that things with George were settled.

"What's Maria like? I mean, her and Curly - are they good together?"

"Oh, well, she's nice enough. A lot nicer than most of the girls they hang around with, anyway. I mean, you remember Beth Travis, right?"

"I remember her." All too well.

"Well, Maria's a lot nicer than her, that's for sure. But she's not one of my favourite people. Jealousy's as close to envy as one can get, and I never claimed to be a saint."

"You're jealous of Maria? Why?"

Emmy shrugged. "George told me once - long before Curly hooked up with her - that he'd had it pretty bad for Maria in high school. Don't get me wrong, I'm secure in George's feelings for me, but that doesn't mean I have to like the girl he used to like."

There was a cheeky grin on her face when she said this, and Lucy Jane almost felt like laughing. They'd never been the type to sit in big groups and gossip at school, but that didn't stop them from having their own private conversations. And their current conversation felt a lot like their old ones did. It made her feel good, and good was something she hadn't felt in so damn long that she just wanted to hold on to it.

A knock on the door stopped her from doing so.

"Would you two hurry the fuck up in there?" Tim called. "Time's gettin' on and some of us are starving."

Lucy Jane rolled her eyes, took the clothes from Emmy, and headed back to the bathroom. Time was getting on, all right, and in the morning she would have to call Rex.

But, as usual, her mind was on Curly. Curly and everything Emmy had hinted at.

XXXXX

It was late. The sun had set, everyone had eaten the pizzas they'd picked up, and George and Emmy were getting ready for bed. Curly couldn't blame them - it had been one hell of a day - and as he carefully dried his hair, taking time not to reopen the cut on his head, he headed back into the living room.

"Are you sure you guys are okay out here?" Emmy asked, for what Curly was sure had to be the fifth time. "I feel just awful that there's only one couch."

"You can't help how many couches you've got, Emmy," he told her. "Now go get some sleep. You've put up with us for long enough."

Both Emmy and George shot him an appreciative look and headed for the bedroom, flicking the lights off as they went. Tim, being the gentleman he was, was stretched out on the couch, boots shucked off next to it, eyes closed. The two seats left were comfortable, but Lucy Jane was sitting against the wall, knees pulled up to her chest.

And he just couldn't help but join her.

"You really ought to get some sleep, you know?"

He was surprised at the smile she gave him. "So should you."

"Yeah … been a long day, huh?"

"One of the longest."

Silence followed, and he hated how awkward it was. They hadn't talked like this all day. They'd argued, talked about tomorrow, bitched and moaned and argued some more - but actual, everyday conversation had yet to happen. And, now that it was, it was awful and tense and uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you came back," she said, and he should have hated the sudden heavy turn the conversation had taken. But he didn't.

"Yeah."

"You gonna tell me why you did?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

They were silent again, and despite wanting heavy conversation over awkward, supposed-to-be-casual conversation, he didn't necessarily want to talk about _that_. He didn't even want to think about that, because thinking about that would make him think about why he still hadn't called Maria, about why he had told Tim he was _in_, and about why he had come back up those stairs after everything that had happened.

About why he had barely thought about Maria in hours.

Instead, he turned the conversation onto her, asking her the one question that had been on his mind all day, the one question he had so far managed to stop himself from asking.

"Why'd you go to Tim?"

She frowned at him in the dark room, looking confused and beautiful and exhausted. "What do you mean?"

"It's just … you used to date me. Not Tim. _Me_."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you come to me for help?"

"Oh, Curly," she said, and in such a way that reminded him far too much of the way she used to say his name. He half expected her to reach out a hand and touch his face. More than half of him wished she would. "I - I guess I didn't want to bring you into any of this. I really never meant for you to get dragged into it.

"Yeah, so you've said. But that doesn't explain why you didn't come to me for help."

"This is dangerous stuff, Curly. Anything could happen, you know that as well as I do. We could get hurt, arrested, _killed_ … and I don't want that to happen to you. I'm not saying I want it to happen to Tim, but it would bother me less. Protecting you was much more important to me than protecting him."

He went warm at her words, his heart thudding in a way he wasn't used to anymore. Only she had ever been able to make his feel that way with just words or just looks. She didn't even have to touch him and he was putty in her hands.

"I'm right here, ya know?" Tim called from the couch.

Lucy Jane grinned and continued quietly. "I don't expect he had any warm and fuzzy feelings toward me, either. I was sure he wouldn't help me out of the goodness of his heart - that's why I offered to pay him. Of course, when I told him it was Rex … well, he was more than happy to help me out."

"But you should've come to me," he said, voice hoarse and … hurt? Surely not. "I would've helped you."

"I know that."

"Even last summer, Luce, I would've done anything to help you."

She gave him a look - one he had seen so often, but not once in the last two years. "You're here now," she said, voice quiet. "Almost seems like you still would."

"Always."

He'd always had trouble keeping his mouth shut around her. She murmured his name again, and he didn't think twice about leaning closer to her. She'd been back in his life for a whole ten hours, and he still couldn't help the way he felt about her, the way he acted around her, the way his body had a mind of its own around her.

He was close enough to feel her breath on his face, the warmth radiating from her skin. He wondered how it was possible that, even after all this time, her hair still smelled like flowers. It made him dizzy and needy and sick in a way he had missed far too much to be sane.

A cough - an obvious, sarcastic, all-I'm-here-for-is-to-piss-you-off cough - came from the couch, and the moment was ruined. Not meeting his gaze, Lucy Jane got to her feet and headed for one of the seats.

_Take him by the hand,  
__Make him understand._

* * *

**A/N:** Not gonna lie - reviews would make me really, really happy :)


	12. Lie here Charmed

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Every You Every Me" by Placebo.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

_Sucker love is known to swing,  
__Prone to cling and waste these things,  
__Pucker up for Heaven__'__s sake,  
__There__'__s never been so much at stake._

It was Tim who put the idea in her head. She had no doubt that it was unintentional - it was far too casual and indifferent for him to be making a point. In the few hours she had spent with him, she'd learned pretty quick that subtlety wasn't his thing. If he'd wanted her to take into consideration what he'd said, he would've stared right at her when he said it, made sure she knew he was hinting at something.

But he hadn't. And, because of that, she hadn't clicked to anything until fifteen minutes ago.

_You__'__re sister might be back at the motel now for all we know, but, either way, we__'__ll be here in the morning._

He was right, of course, and she didn't know why she hadn't thought of that herself. Whether she loved Rex or not, Josie wanted nothing more than another hit of any damn thing she could get her hands on. While Lucy Jane had automatically assumed that Josie had gone to Rex, or that Rex had found Josie, a just as likely option was that she had simply gone out to score.

And if that was the case, she could be sitting alone in a filthy motel room, wondering where the hell Lucy Jane was.

That's not to say she was getting her hopes up, though. In fact, she knew the likelihood of her sister being back at the motel was slim, and she was pretty sure that's why Tim's words had taken so long to sink in. She had been in and out of the motel all week, and this was the first time Josie had left. Lucy Jane knew better than to think she hadn't gone running to Rex.

But she was going to check anyway. Just to make sure. The slim chance of her sister being there wasn't something she was willing to dismiss.

Pulling the very car Tim had stolen earlier that day into the motel parking lot, she hurried out and up the stairs. The light inside the office was off, and she hoped like hell the creepy guy behind the desk had stayed out of her room. There wasn't anything special in there - she wasn't stupid enough to hide Tim's money in there - but it was still _her_ stuff she didn't want some guy going through.

Cringing at the thought, she reached her room, heart sinking at the silence coming from it. Either Josie was inside and high as a kite, or she simply wasn't there. Lucy Jane wasn't sure which she would prefer.

She took a quick glance around the silent parking lot and the dark road beyond, before sticking the key in the lock and opening the door.

The silence was terrifying, and she suddenly wished Curly was with her. As he'd said earlier that day, anyone could be in there with Josie. If Rex was in there, everything she'd done and said that day would be wasted. All the help Tim, Curly, Emmy, and George had given her would have been wasted.

She thought about that for a quick second before stepping inside. Wasted or not, Curly and Tim knew where Rex's car was, they knew what was in it. Josie might not be saved - if Rex was in there Lucy Jane was sure to be killed - but at least Tim and Curly would have the car to use against Rex. And she had no doubt they would do everything they could to put an end to him.

Rex wasn't in there. Neither was Josie. The room was exactly as she and Curly had left it that afternoon. Though not entirely surprised, Lucy Jane couldn't stop the sigh of disappointment from making its way out. She wanted her sister to be safe - even if that did mean alone in some motel room, stoned out of her mind.

"Damn," she muttered, walking farther into the room.

She didn't know what to do now. She'd come to find Josie, and Josie wasn't there. The logical thing to do was to go back to Emmy's, but she couldn't do that. Because now - now that Josie was no where to be seen - she couldn't deny her other reason for leaving the apartment.

Curly had tried to kiss her. Curly had _almost_ kissed her, and she had _almost_ let him. Hell, she had no doubt that there was no almost about it. She would have let him kiss her and kiss her had Tim not interrupted. Tim. She didn't know whether to thank him or curse him. Probably a little of both.

She rubbed her hands over her eyes and sat on the bed. They were playing a dangerous game, and she wasn't just thinking about her and Curly. She hadn't been exaggerating when she told him why she had gone to Tim - she couldn't stand the idea of him getting hurt. And now he was trying to kiss her, and it just added a whole new level of complicated to it.

She cared about him. And she cared about Emmy - which, in turn, led her to care about George - and she had even come to dislike Tim a little less. He definitely wasn't the big, bad wolf she had originally anticipated.

And that was why she left the apartment. This was her battle, and instead of simply getting Tim's help, she now had Curly and George and Emmy all doing whatever they could to help her, too. And she couldn't stand it. It had taken that almost-kiss for her to realise that every reason she hadn't wanted Curly involved in the first place was now happening.

Still not sure what to do, she got up and headed for the door. She'd drive. She'd drive and think things through. And probably not go back to Emmy's. She wasn't sure she could face everyone knowing she had left when she knocked on the door to be let back in. She could already imagine the glare on Curly's face.

Front door still wide open, she walked through it and straight into someone whose hand quickly clamped over her mouth to keep her quiet.

"Calm the fuck down," Curly muttered, grabbing her around the waist as she struggled against him.

The tension in her body left, but she didn't stop shaking as he pushed them inside the motel room. He kicked the door closed behind him and waited a moment before letting her go, and her mind whirled the whole time. How the hell did he find her? He was fast asleep when she left, and she had been quiet as a mouse.

"What the _fuck_, Lucy Jane? Christ, I shouldn't even be surprised that you up and left the apartment, but, shit, are you really that fuckin' stupid?"

She glared at him. "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"I could ask you the same question. You think it was fun waking up to realise you'd taken off to deal with Hamilton on your own?"

She expected him to be surprised and angry, but he sounded almost … scared. Guilt flooded her, but she said nothing. She didn't want to admit it to him, but she had left him to keep him safe, not to make him worry.

"I came here to find my sister."

"Bullshit. Your sister's with Hamilton, and we all know it."

"That - that's not true."

"Shit," he continued, "do you even have a weapon?"

"Do you?" She sounded like a petulant five year old, and she knew it.

"I have Tim's gun."

Her eyes widened. "Tim has a gun?"

"What, you think him and Hamilton were gonna sort their differences out with a nice talk? Or a friendly game of pool? Don't be so fucking stupid. And don't lie to yourself, either, Luce, it'll only make things worse when we find Josie with Hamilton, all doped up."

She didn't even flinch at his words, that's how right he was. "You don't know anything."

"I know you stupidly left the apartment. And I knew you'd come straight here. You think it's just good luck that I found you before Hamilton or one of his boys? I know you, Lucy Jane, and I know you left because you didn't want me involved. But that's just too damn bad, okay? Because I am involved, and not just because I tried to kiss you -"

"Stop! Don't do this, Curly, don't make this about you and me. It's about Josie. I might not have necessarily come here to find her, but I need to get her safe. She's the only thing I care about right now."

He silently glared at her for a long time before responding. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Curly -"

"Well it's clearly true. We've all gone out of our why for you today, especially Emmy and Tim - and neither of them were real fond of you before you turned up this morning - and how do you repay us? By taking off in the middle of the fucking night. Nice move, Luce. Real good. It's not like Hamilton's just gonna forget that he knows we're in on this."

"Look, I -"

"Christ, Luce, why the fuck are you even here? I was doing perfectly fine without you, you know? But you had to come back and ruin everything! We were never anything but a fucking disaster, Lucy Jane, and I wish to hell you'd never come back."

Her stomach dropped at his words. She had wondered, for a lot of the day, if that was how he felt, but had never quite let herself believe it, but now …

"I didn't mean that," he said, looking shocked at his own words.

Her head swam. "No - no it's okay. You're right, and I'm sorry. I never meant for you to get involved in this, you know that. But you are involved and I've messed everything up and I'm sorry."

"I didn't _mean_ it."

"We _were_ a disaster," she continued, ignoring him, unable to even look at him, "and I understand if you don't wanna help me. I just - I never should've expected anything from you, and -"

"Christ, don't you ever fuckin' listen?"

She finally looked at him, glare in her eyes. "I _am_ listening. You said you wished I hadn't come back, and I'm trying to apologise for getting you involved, but -"

"I also said I didn't mean it," he said, stepping closer.

"That doesn't mean anything."

"The hell it doesn't." There was a slight growl to his voice when he said it, his blue eyes alight with anger. And then he kissed her.

She stood stock-still for a moment - as his mouth pressed against hers, his hands grabbed at her hips, his body pushed against her own - as she waited for her mind and body to catch up to his. She pulled back slightly.

"Stop," she whispered. "You have a girlfriend."

He trailed breathy kissed down her neck as he answered. "I don't love my girlfriend."

She pushed away the lump in her throat that formed at his words. _He didn__'__t love his girlfriend_.

"Oh." Was all she could think to say, and when he lifted his head to capture her lips with his own again, she let him. She let him kiss her, and she kissed him back, and when they both fell back onto the bed, she knew there was no turning back.

XXXXX

He wasn't one for sappy romance shit, but having her back in his arms again sure felt right. For the first time in he didn't know how long, both his body and mind felt relaxed and exhausted and at ease. He couldn't honestly remember the last time he had felt that good.

"What're we going to do?" Lucy Jane asked, breaking the perfect silence far too soon.

It was a decent question, and he almost hated himself for the answer he came up with. "Whatever you want. I'll do whatever you want."

"That's not an answer."

"Sure it is."

"That's just you hoping to get laid again."

With how quickly she'd given into him, he doubted he'd have to try very hard. He thought about saying that, happy to add a little light teasing to the heavy petting they'd already endured, but decided against it.

"I ain't kiddin', Luce. So long as you don't go taking off on me again I'll do whatever you wanna do."

"Really?"

"Really. It'll probably get us killed or somethin' but if you wanna go lookin' for Josie now, then that's what we'll do."

"You're being very accommodating."

"Yeah, well."

"That's not an answer, either." Suddenly her almost-teasing tone from moments ago vanished, and, even worse than that, she pulled away. They hadn't exactly been _cuddling_, but, sheet clutched tightly to her chest, she turned away from him and sat up.

"What's wrong?"

"We need to figure out what to do," she said. "I mean, this was nice and everything, but it doesn't change what's going on. I still have Rex's car hidden, I still need to find Josie, I still got you involved when I really didn't want to."

She still had her back to him, and he got the feeling that any chance of a deep and meaningful they could possibly have was long gone. And he wasn't sure if he was relieved or not. He should be, he knew that, but it made him feel empty and annoyed. He wanted Lucy Jane to be feeling whatever it was that he was feeling. Instead, she was back to business as normal.

"Well, whaddya wanna do?" he asked.

When she said nothing, he began to get uncomfortable. Not having a deep and meaningful was once thing, but going completely cold on him was another.

"Luce? You can't pretend this didn't happen."

"I don't want to pretend it didn't happen, Curly, I just can't think about it right now."

"Why the hell not?"

She turned and gave him an disbelieving look. "Why the hell not? Because I don't know what I'm doing anymore! Not only did I ruin Tim's plan by taking off on him, but I have no idea if he'll still be willing to help me, and I've just slept with a guy who has a girlfriend."

He cringed, realising he hadn't thought about Maria in hours. He felt guilty for that, but not like he should. No where near as bad as he should. In fact, he felt worse that all Lucy Jane referred to him as was a guy. Just some guy. He wasn't even considered an ex-boyfriend anymore.

And that was something he wanted to ignore.

"Let's figure out what to do then," he said, watching as she stood and quickly dressed.

"Okay, well … what do you think?"

"What do I think?"

"Yeah."

He grit his teeth, knowing that, if he wasn't careful, he'd just start another fight with her. It pissed him off, it was as simple as that. She didn't want to talk about what had just happened, but would happily ask his advice on what to do next.

It was a shame he didn't really have any.

"I don't know if I wanna call Tim," she said, not waiting for his answer. "And not just because I don't even want him to get hurt. I just - I don't know how much I trust him."

Curly climbed out of bed and reached for his boxers. "You know that doesn't make a lick of sense, right? You went to him for help and now you dunno if you trust him."

"I hadn't exactly put all my trust in him before now."

"But you were willing to ask for his help. Hell, you were willing to call Hamilton in the morning just because Tim asked you to."

"Curly, you almost sound jealous."

He scoffed, getting dressed. "Of Tim? Yeah, right."

"You did ask me earlier today - or, yesterday - if I was sleeping with him."

"And you said no."

"That's because I'm not."

"That doesn't explain the sudden lack of trust in him." He was well aware that he was avoiding every mention of ever being jealous.

"It's hardly sudden," she muttered. "It's just that … the more time I spend with you, the more I remember exactly what he did."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about."

She looked at him, and for the first time since before he'd kissed her, she looked unsure. "He made you choose. Didn't he?"

"Oh, that. Yeah."

"Yeah, that. And the more I think about that, the more I think about everything else you've said - about him only being in this for himself, and that he doesn't care what happens to me or Josie. All he wants is to kill Rex, right? He doesn't care if Josie and I get hurt in the process."

"Hell, he probably doesn't give a shit if I get hurt in the process."

Lucy Jane looked doubtful. "Really?"

"C'mon. I think you know as well as I do that my well-being is hardly Tim's biggest concern."

"Yeah, but, it should be, you know? That's my point. He wants to kill Rex, has wanted to for some time now, and my turning up has given him the perfect excuse - and opportunity - to do so. _That__'__s _all he cares about. Not you, not me, not Josie - just killing Rex."

He couldn't believe this. "You're only just figuring this out now? Shit."

She shrugged. "I know you told me all of this yesterday, but it hadn't really sunk in until now. I mean, do you trust Tim?"

"Not particularly."

"Exactly."

"So what do we do?"

"I don't know."

They only had one plan. They'd only ever had one plan, and it was Tim's. They could still follow through with it, but there was no chance of turning up at the lake come morning and _not_ finding Tim there. Tim wanted in on this, no matter what. The only way they could do this without him putting them all in danger just to get his revenge was to do it without him. Somehow.

Before he could come up with any kind of logical idea, someone knocked at the door.

"Did anyone follow you?" he whispered, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Only you."

"I don't think I was followed," he said. "Unlike you, I wasn't driving a stolen car, nor do I have any outstanding warrants for my arrest - it would've been no big deal had I been pulled up for speeding, so … I sped."

"And didn't pay attention to any cars following you?"

"It's the middle of the fucking night, Lucy Jane, I'm sure I would've noticed someone following me."

Another knock came from the door, and Lucy Jane paled when someone began speaking.

"C'mon, Little Lucy, open the door for me."

Curly didn't know for sure, but he could only assume it was Rex Hamilton.

_Like the naked leads the blind,  
__I know I__'__m selfish, I__'__m unkind,  
__Sucker love I always find,  
__Someone to bruise and leave behind._

* * *

**A/N:** Feel free to point out any mistakes; my final edit was very quick so I could get it posted tonight :)


	13. Dreams just don't Come True

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Re-Education Through Labor" by Rise Against.

* * *

**C****HAPTER THIRTEEN**

_To the rhythm of a time bomb ticking away,  
__And the blare of the sirens combing the streets._

"Oh God, oh God, oh God …"

Curly looked at Lucy Jane, muttering to herself with her hands over her mouth, and wasn't sure he had ever seen anyone go so white so quickly. Nor had he ever seen anyone so damn terrified. He stepped toward her and her gaze flew from the door to meet his.

"What do we do?" Her voice was barely a whisper through her fingers, as if she thought Hamilton might not hear her and go away.

"Let me in, Lucy Jane. We've got _so_ much to talk about."

Curly grabbed her hands in his own; she was trembling so hard his own hands shook.

"What do I do?" she asked again.

He opened his mouth to reply when an even bigger knock came from the door. "I know you're in there, kiddo …" Hamilton sing-songed.

"Let him in." Curly hated his words the moment they were out.

"What?"

"We either let him in now, or he beats the door down. And I'm sure that won't help his temper, and his bad mood won't help us."

She nodded. "Tim's gun -"

"It's in the car."

"Oh."

They stared at each other for a few moments, and Curly fought the urge to say all kinds of pathetic things. Things he hadn't said in so long - things he hadn't felt in so long. It wasn't the time or the place, but when Lucy Jane reached a hand up to caress his cheek, it was all on the tip of his tongue.

More knocking came, so hard that it rattled the door. "Let me the fuck in!"

"You run the moment I tell you to, got it?"

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving without you."

"You have to, it's the only chance you'll get. I'll catch up. I promise."

She looked doubtful, but nodded and went for the door, throwing Curly one last look before pulling it open. Rex Hamilton strolled in like he owned the place, and Curly's stomach turned to ice. He'd only ever seen the guy in passing before, but there was no mistaking that red hair. A list went through his head at the sight of him, of everything Tim had told him about this guy - taking advantage of Anita, hitting Sylvia, getting his boys to jump Two-Bit Mathews and Steve Randle, hassling both Anita and Anna one night, shooting Danny, hurting Shelley …

Then there were his own jumpings by his boys - both the day before and years ago in juvie - and then there was everything Lucy Jane had told him the day before. The ice in his stomach went white-hot, and despite the fear he knew he should feel, he felt nothing but anger.

"That's more like it," Hamilton said. "Ah, young Shepard, can't say I'm surprised to see you here."

Curly said nothing, but Lucy Jane spoke up. "How did you find me?"

"How do you think?"

Lucy Jane looked disappointed. "She came to you. Where's is she now?"

"Never mind where she is. What I wanna know is where the fuck my car is."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Bullshit. Don't play games with me, Little Lucy. Tell me where my car is, and I'll let you and your little boyfriend go."

"No you won't."

Hamilton grinned an evil grin. "Indeed"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know anything about your car. I mean, just because it happened to disappear the same day I did doesn't mean anything. Gee, Rex, anyone could have taken it."

He looked at Curly, seeming to take pleasure in her sarcasm. "Well, she's sure got a point there, man. Ya know, I can see why you like her - she's a feisty one."

"What's so important about your car, anyway?" Curly asked.

"Like you don't know. I'm willin' to bet all the money I got that your brother searched the whole damn thing when Lucy Jane told him she had it."

Curly wasn't going to admit to it, so he said nothing. Hamilton seemed to take that as some form of agreement. He stepped closer to him.

"C'mon, Shepard, convince her I'm right. Give up the car and her life will be so much easier," he said, as though Curly was now on his side.

He shrugged, following Lucy Jane's lead. "I don't know anything about a car."

"I thought you might say that, and, ya know, it really is just too bad." He reached into the back of his jeans and pulled out a gun. "I had such high hopes for you, Little Lucy. You're nowhere near as sweet as your sister, but there's something really _bitchy_ about you that the boys at home just _love_."

He used the muzzle of the gun to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and Curly's whole body tensed. All the air rushed out of his lungs, and he didn't care that he hadn't seen Lucy Jane in two years, he didn't care that he was going up against Rex Hamilton, he didn't care that the guy had a _gun_.

He stepped forward. "Leave her alone."

"Hmm, protective, are we? I wonder if the feeling is mutual."

Hamilton pointed the gun at Curly, and Lucy Jane reached out to grab him. "_No_."

A voice from the door stopped them both. "Rex, don't. You said you wouldn't hurt them."

"Josie!" Lucy Jane went to run at her sister, but Hamilton grabbed her around the waist.

"Now, now. No more running off, sweetheart."

"You took her, you asshole! You took my sister."

Hamilton laughed. "Sweetheart, your sister came runnin', and you know it."

She turned to look at Josie, who shrugged. "Sorry, Luce."

"Sorry? You're _sorry_? Do you even have any idea what I've been through today?"

"She doesn't," Hamilton said. He grabbed her by the chin so she was looking at him. "But we both sure are interested."

"Go to hell."

Curly watched in surprise. He'd seen plenty of girls fight before, and he'd seen plenty of girls try and take on guys before, but he'd never heard of anyone willing to stand up to Rex Hamilton. And, if he was honest with himself, the last girl he expected to do that was Lucy Jane. Even Sylvia, the toughest broad he knew, was weary of Hamilton.

"You're cute when you're angry," Hamilton said, but there was dangerous glint in his eyes. "But not cute enough. You know what happens when you piss me off, kiddo."

"I'm not scared of you."

"I don't believe you."

There was an angry silence in the air, and though Lucy Jane didn't look scared, Curly knew better. But he didn't know what to expect from Hamilton.

"I don't like it when you lie to me, Lucy Jane."

"I don't care."

"Oh, I know it. You know, I'm really fucking sick of your attitude. All I ever do is leave you alone, just like your damn sister asks me to, and all I get in return is your ungrateful _bitchiness_." Hand still on her chin, he pushed her roughly away and lifted the gun, pointing it right at her head. "And I've had it."

Curly's heart clenched. She had told him the very day before that this happened - that Hamilton's had held a gun to her head a few times before - and though he had known her words to be truthful, seeing it was something else.

Now he was seeing it, and he knew he'd throw himself in front of her before he let Hamilton hurt her. He had to do _something_ before Hamilton decided to actually go through with it this time.

"Rex, wait." There was a tremor to Josie's voice, a defiance in Lucy Jane's eyes that made Curly wonder if, no matter how many times this had happened before, somehow this was different.

"No."

Josie stepped forward, and Curly could see the worry behind the confused look in her eyes. "Please, Lucy, just tell him where the car is."

"I don't know anything about any car."

Hamilton nodded. "Then you're no longer any use to me."

"Rex -" Josie stepped forward again, but Hamilton pushed her back toward the door.

"Last chance, kiddo. We've been here before, but your sister brought me to you tonight. It seems she's not nearly as concerned about your safety as I'd thought, and if you really know nothin' about my car … well, give me one good reason not to shoot ya."

She looked at Curly, and he stared back for a long moment. Shock and confusion and anger coursed through him, and he just didn't understand what the hell she was doing. He'd been willing to play along for a while, knowing denial was the best option they had, but shit was getting way too serious. She blinked quickly before looking back at Hamilton.

"I don't know where your car is."

Hamilton pulled the hammer back.

"She's lying!" Curly yelled. "Fuck, Lucy Jane, just tell him."

She didn't look at him, just kept staring at Hamilton. "No. He's going to kill us anyway, Curly, and there's no way I'm telling him where his damn precious car is if that's how it's going to end."

"Maybe not." He stepped toward Hamilton. "Look, we'll tell you where the car is - even take you to it if that's what you want - just let her go, okay? Let her go and she'll never bother you again, right, Luce?"

"Not without my sister."

"Your sister chose me."

She scoffed. "My sister chose the junk you keep shooting her up with."

Rex's jaw clenched, and the hand holding the gun to Lucy Jane's head shook with anger. "I'm sick of this shit. You've got three seconds, Little Lucy. Three, two … one."

"I'll tell you!"

The words were out of Curly's mouth before he had time to think about them. He'd done a lot of dumb things in his life - followed Tim around like a lost puppy, broke his arm after climbing up that telephone pole, got into fight after fight after fight, played chicken with Ponyboy, got suspended more times than he could count, kissed some damn Soc broad, held a fucking knife to his brother's throat - but this was it. This was what was going to get him killed.

All for that very same damn Soc broad.

Tim had always told him the River Kings were stupid, and despite how dangerous he was, Rex Hamilton was no exception. The moment Curly spoke, the hand holding the gun lowered slightly, and an all too cocky grin appeared on his face. It was all Curly needed.

He jumped him, throwing his entire body weight onto him. Hamilton might be shorter than him, but he was tougher and meaner. And still the one holding the gun. Wrestling for dominance with one arm, Curly struggled for the gun with the other, trying to ignore the incoherent yelling from the guy he was fighting.

"_Curly_!"

He knew that voice, and he glanced at Lucy Jane the best he could. "Run!"

She didn't move right away, but he couldn't afford to keep watch and make sure she did, or even to tell her again. He turned his attention right back to Hamilton; they were still struggling for the gun, but Hamilton had gotten the upper hand in that moment of weakness, and now had him on the ground.

"Just for that, Shepard, I'm gonna take even more pleasure in killin' that bitch," he said, but Curly was just happy to hear the sound of the door slamming shut in the background.

"Fuck you," he said. He grinned and smashed his forehead into Hamilton's nose.

Hamilton let out an enraged howl, and everything that followed happened too quickly for Curly to take in. There was a deafening bang, a sharp pain in the back of his head, then everything went black.

XXXXX

She was sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was wrong. Leaving - leaving _Curly_ - just wasn't right, but she couldn't help it. He had told her to run, so she ran. She did exactly as he said, pulling Josie along behind her.

She didn't know what she was doing, she didn't know what Josie was thinking, and she didn't know if Curly would be okay. All she knew was that he had promised to catch up to her, and she had to believe him. She had to, because if she didn't, she wasn't sure she would be able to function properly.

"Come _on_," she gasped, tugging on Josie's sleeve as they ran down the stairs to the parking lot.

There was a loud _pop_ from above them, one Lucy Jane had heard more than once while living with Josie and Rex. She let out a choked whimper, her heart screaming at her to run back up their stairs all the while she continued dragging Josie toward the car. Curly would be okay. He _had_ to be okay. He promised to catch up to her.

She pulled the keys out of her pockets, thanking God she had never bothered to hand them over to Tim, and unlocked the driver's door.

"Luce, what're we doing?"

"Get in."

"But Rex might be hurt."

She didn't have the patience for that. _Curly_ might be hurt. "Get in the car, Josie," she said, giving her sister a slight shove.

Josie crawled across the seats just as a door above them slammed shut. Swallowing back bile, she chanced a glance up and found Rex wiping blood from his face.

"Oh hell."

Without another thought, she jumped into the car and got it started.

"Did you see Rex?" Josie asked.

Lucy Jane didn't bother with an answer, just put the car into gear and sped off. She didn't know where to go, or what to do, but knew her best bet was Tim. He wanted nothing more than to kill Rex, and after what might have just happened - what she wouldn't let herself think about - that was all she wanted, too. Josie was currently safe, Curly was what she couldn't think about, and Rex was -

She glanced in her rear-view mirror. Rex was following them. She didn't doubt it.

"Jesus Christ," she whispered.

Her hands shook as she clenched them on the steering wheel, and she pressed down on the accelerator. Rex was following them. She had stupidly left Emmy's, Josie had sold her out, and Curly was …

She pushed back a sob, forcing every feeling inside of her to become one, and let out a year's worth of pent up anger at her sister.

"How could you, Josie? How could you?"

"What?"

"You have no idea what you've done, do you? Your mind is too damn messed up by that shit he gives you for you to realise just what you've done!"

There was a confused frown on Josie's face, and, not for the first time, Lucy Jane hated her a little bit.

"I don't know if Curly's okay," she continued, turning right down a side street. "I only just got him back in my life, and now, for all I know, Rex just … shit. And you - God, Josie, you didn't just choose him and the drugs over me today, but you told him where I was!"

"I know."

"You know? Then surely you knew what was going to happen. Rex's had it with me Josie, we both know that. I stole from him, and he would've killed me tonight had Curly not stopped him."

"Luce, I - I'm so sorry."

"Bullshit. You don't give a damn about me or Curly or anyone. Christ, you're worse than Tim, Josie. All you care about is scoring from Rex."

Josie started to cry. "I'm sorry, I _am_. I just love him."

"You love him. You love the guy who wants to kill your sister. That's just … that's fantastic, Josie. That's really great." She took a sharp left turn.

"You can't help you fall in love with, Lucy Jane."

Hell, and didn't she know it.

"He doesn't love you back."

"Yes he does."

"No, he doesn't; he treats you like crap." She took another look in her mirror, hating that he was still there. "He doesn't love you, Josie. You're just another girl to him, and you practically gave him your little sister on a platter tonight. Just so he'd let you shoot up later. You brought him to the hotel, knowing he'd want nothing more than to kill me. God, I've spent the whole day dealing with Tim and Curly, just to keep you safe, and you go and do this to me?"

Josie didn't say anything, just continued to cry, and Lucy Jane wanted to join her. A good cry sounded pretty damn nice, but there was no chance of it happening. She wasn't stupid enough to let it happen. She had to get somewhere safe, and the headlights speeding up behind her were bound to make that impossible.

"Put your seatbelt on," she told her sister, trying to get her own on in the process.

"No."

"Josie -"

"Not until you promise to take me to Rex."

"Why? So you can get stoned again?"

Josie didn't reply, and the car behind them was far too close for Lucy Jane's liking.

"Seriously, Josie. Put your damn seatbelt on."

"You know what, Lucy Jane? Fuck you."

She rolled her eyes. The sudden change in Josie's demeanour wasn't even a surprise after the last year. Deep down she believed her sister loved her, but, for the most part, her earlier statement was true - Josie only cared about Rex and the dope he got her hooked on. She hated that she was used to it.

The car behind them started flashing its lights and tooting its horn. Lucy Jane pushed her foot down just as it hit them from behind. Both girls screamed, Josie's body falling forward slightly.

"Put your goddamn seatbelt on!"

She was too busy glancing between the road ahead and the car behind them to see if Josie did as she said. Rex pulled back slightly, but she knew him well enough to know it wouldn't last.

"How could you do this, Josie?" It was Josie turning her in, and Curly back at the hotel that kept flooding her mind. But Josie was the only one she would let herself dwell on. Josie was the only one she could let herself think about without falling apart.

"I don't know."

Tears pricked her eyes. "I'm your _sister_."

"I know," Josie sobbed. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"Shit."

Rex hadn't sped up yet, but she put her foot down anyway. As they sped through the intersection, everything seemed to happen all at once. Josie screamed, Lucy Jane was blinded by headlights as she turned to see what was going on, and a booming crash rattled in her ears. Then everything went black.

_Chased down by dogs we run from,  
__Your grasp until the sun comes up._

* * *

**A/N:** Review? Please?


	14. I'll pick Your Feet up off of the Ground

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Grade 8" by Ed Sheeran.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

_I see it in your movements tonight,  
__If we should ever do this right,  
__I__'__m never gonna let you down,  
__Oh, I__'__ll never let you down._

Curly felt sick when he woke up. Blood trickled down his face, his eyes blurred slightly, and his head pounded like a there was a fucking jackhammer in there. It was made worse when he sat up, but he had to. He couldn't stay lying on the filthy carpet, where his blood just added to every other stain known to man.

He held a hand to his pounding head, and closed his eyes for a moment. He'd been knocked out twice in less than twenty-four hours now, and he wasn't impressed. At least this time he knew what was going on.

Kind of.

It hit him suddenly enough to make his head spin a little more. He was alone. Lucy Jane was gone, her sister was gone, and Rex Hamilton was gone. He didn't give a shit about Hamilton, didn't much care for Lucy Jane's sister, but Lucy Jane herself …

Hamilton's last words echoed in his mind, and he forced himself to his feat, swaying slightly as he went. He had to find her. He had no idea where to look, but he had to find her and make sure she was okay. He'd promised he would catch up, and he had every intention of doing so.

So long as Hamilton didn't fine her first.

He left the motel as quickly as his dizzy head would allow, and headed to his car, glad that Hamilton hadn't thought to slash his tires before leaving. Then again, going by the guy's temper inside the motel, he figured going after the two girls had been his main priority. Not slashing some tires.

He tried to figure out what to do as he got in the car and drove off. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, his best bet was to get Tim. Sure, his brother wouldn't give a damn about Lucy Jane and Josie, but at least he would know what to do. And with his current headache, Curly could barely remember his way home.

And he had to go home. Going straight to Emmy's to get Tim was out of the question - not only was his place closer, but he didn't have a clue who else Hamilton had brought to the hotel with him. For all he knew, the car behind him was full of Hamilton's boys. There wasn't much he could do about them following him, but he could sure as hell keep them away from Emmy's. Even if it meant being jumped _again_.

At four o'clock in the morning, it didn't take long to get home. Nor was there any hassle in doing so. The car behind him pulled into a driveway long before he reached his apartment block, and there was no other car in sight the whole way there. Pulling his car into a parking space, he waited a few minutes, just to make sure, before making his way inside.

"Fuck," he muttered, wiping more blood away from his face. He knew head wounds always bled that little bit more, and he wished like hell he had time for a shower. It was unlikely, though; Tim would want to meet up as soon as he heard from Curly.

The phone was ringing when he unlocked the door, and a wave of uncertainty flooded him. Sure, he needed Tim's help, but he was willing to bet it was Tim on the other end of the phone, calling to yell at him for taking off. He couldn't be bothered with that - there were much more important things to figure out - but he picked up the phone anyway, throwing out a cautious "Yeah?".

Silence, and then, "Curly, it's me."

"Maria?"

She sighed. "I'm not sure how to tell you this, but there's been an accident."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She paused a moment. "Curly, Lucy Jane's here."

His stomach churned. "Is she okay?" He could tell by her sigh that she was disappointed by his lack of surprise at hearing his ex-girlfriend's name.

"There was a car accident. Her and her sister were both brought in, but …"

"But what, Maria?" He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.

"Her sister died before she made it to the hospital."

"Shit."

"Lucy Jane's okay. A few cuts and bruises, but I think she was wearing her seatbelt."

"Okay. Okay, good." The relief he felt was overwhelming.

"The thing is," Maria continued, "I need you to come and get her."

That was unexpected. He had wholeheartedly planned on doing so, from the moment Maria told him Lucy Jane was there, but he definitely wasn't expecting Maria to agree to it, let alone be the one to suggest it.

Her voice lowered. "Curly, both Rex Hamilton and the police are here. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but from what I picked up, Rex was following Lucy Jane and her sister when someone drove into them at an intersection. His car rear-ended hers, and he got knocked out, but … both him and the police have asked to see her, and I kind of get the feeling that might not be the best idea."

Not for the first time, Maria being little sister to someone in the gang was coming in handy. She knew the score.

"You're right," he said. "It'd be best if she stayed away from both - especially Hamilton. I'm on my way."

"Hurry," she said before he hung up. "She's uh - she's been asking for you."

XXXXX

He didn't give much thought to what he would say to Maria until he saw her. She stood at the nurses station, reading through a file, and looking really fucking gorgeous. And he immediately felt like shit. He hadn't just cheated on her; he had slept with his ex-girlfriend, and had no intentions of trying to get Maria to forgive him. He'd apologise, and mean it, but that was it. There would be no trying to get her to forgive him, trying to get here to give him a second chance.

Her gaze met his, and instead of coming to meet him, she nodded in the direction of the hallway, indicating he should follow her. He did, all the while worrying like hell about Lucy Jane and how she was doing. A few cuts and bruises was no big deal, but her sister was dead.

Maria stopped in a quiet corner, and he realised he'd have to get through this conversation before he even mentioned Lucy Jane. That was the least he could do.

"Hey," he said.

"Your head -"

"It's fine," he assured her. He'd wiped away all the blood he could, but he knew he was still a mess.

"Right." She forced a smile. "Lucy Jane's been awful worried about you. Seemed to think there was a chance you'd been shot."

He remembered the loud noise before Hamilton hit him with the butt of his gun, and cringed. "I can see why she'd think that."

"Oh. And here I was hoping she was showing signs of a delusional disorder due to the accident."

"I'm sorry," he said, knowing there wasn't much else that could be said.

"I don't know how to take that, Curly. I don't if you're apologising for getting caught up in whatever made her think you might have been shot, or if there's something more."

"I - I don't really know how to answer that."

"Well, is there something more?"

"Yeah."

"Did you sleep with her?"

Wild eyes, flushed skin, and tangled hair flashed through his mind. He was back there, and he could feel her, smell her, hear her; her damp body against his own, her soft hair against his nose, her breathy sigh when he whispered her name. It all came rushing back to him - the way her small hands ran down his back, the way her fingers tangled in his hair, and the way she felt against him - and he had to look away from Maria.

"Yeah, I did."

"Do - do you love her."

His mind hadn't gone there yet, but … "Yeah."

"How long? How long has this been goin' on?"

"It hasn't. I mean, I saw her yesterday for the first time in years, and it - it just happened. I'm so sorry."

Maria nodded, looked away from him, and went silent for a while. As desperate as he was to get to Lucy Jane, he waited her out, knowing she deserved his undivided attention. He couldn't take back what he'd done - couldn't pretend he wanted to take it back if he tried - but he could stand and wait while she yelled and screamed at him like he deserved.

She finally met his gaze again, and he was glad to see her eyes were dry. "Rex Hamilton and the police are on the other side of this floor. I'm going to go get them and take them to the next floor to see Lucy Jane -"

"But -"

"- That'll give you enough time to go around the corner and get Lucy Jane from room six. You need to get her out of here quickly, Curly. Rex Hamilton - he looked, well, he looked really angry. Especially when he found out about her sister."

He couldn't believe this girl was so willing to help him and Lucy Jane out after what she had just found out about the two of them. "Okay."

"Also … she doesn't know about her sister yet."

"_What_?"

"I know it's an awful position to put you in, but once she started talking about you, I just figured it'd be better coming from you, rather than the girl who's dating - _was_ dating you. She was already in such a state, the doctors wanted to keep her in over night to make sure she didn't completely flip out when told about her sister. She's calmed down now, but … I really think it would be best if you got her out of here."

"Right."

"And wait until you're out of here before you tell her about her sister."

"Yeah, okay."

She sniffed softly. "You really ought to get going."

"Yeah. Maria … thank you." He rested his hand on her arm for a moment, and she nodded.

"Be careful, Curly. Whatever it is you've got yourself into, just be careful." She gave his hand a quick squeeze and took off back the way she had come.

He stood for a moment, feeling guilty, before Maria's words came back to him. He didn't have time to stand around feeling like shit - he had to get Lucy Jane out of there, and he had to do it now. He glanced around, not seeing a soul, and headed for the corner Maria had mentioned.

He hurried as much as he could without bringing any attention to himself, and once he was around the corner, room six was right in front of him. He took a breath, preparing himself for what he was sure to be a panicked Lucy Jane, and went inside.

She looked up as the door closed behind him, jumping from the bed the moment she saw him.

"Curly," she breathed his name in relief, and ran to him, throwing her arms were around his neck. He hugged her back, knowing the only other time he'd seen her this desperate was the night he had dumped her.

"Hey, baby. You okay?"

She nodded and pulled back to look at him, but didn't let go. "I am now. Are you okay, though? I heard the gun go off, and then Rex came out -"

"I'm fine. He knocked me out, but I'm fine."

"Oh, thank God." She hugged him again.

He ran his hand over her soft hair, trying to figure out what to say next, how to get her out of there without her refusing. If the last twelve hours had shown him anything, it was that she wouldn't be willing to leave without her sister.

"Where's Josie?" she asked. "No one's told me anything."

He softly pushed her away so he could look at her properly. Gripping her face, he took another breath. "You trust me, right?"

She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, and he wished like hell he knew what she was thinking. Finally, she nodded. "Of course I trust you."

"Then you need to come with me and not ask questions, okay? Both Hamilton and the fuzz are here, both wanting to talk to you, and I need to get you out of here before either of them find you."

"Okay," she said, and he was surprised at how quickly she agreed. "Josie's probably with Rex, but I think we both know I have no chance of getting her back unless I use the car against him. And that can't happen if he has me."

Curly nodded, unable to say anything that could later be seen as a lie. "Let's go."

XXXXX

In Curly's car, with a slight headache but mostly just relieved, all Lucy Jane could think about was Maria, of all things. The girl was even taller, curvier, and more beautiful than Lucy Jane remembered, and the moment she saw her she wondered why on earth Curly had slept with _her_. And while Maria waited for Curly to arrive, all Lucy Jane could do was wonder if it was all a big mistake to him, if he'd choose Maria the moment he laid eyes on her again.

She looked at him; he had clearly chosen her. She didn't know much about what was going on now, but she'd known that the moment he walked into that room, and the way he'd held her just confirmed it even more. He was there for her, and that was that.

"Maria cleaned up my cuts," she said, the same guilt she'd felt at the time flooding through her.

"Yeah, she's a good nurse. Stitched me up that time in high school, remember?"

"Yeah. She's really nice, too."

"That she is."

"I felt pretty awful the whole time," she admitted. "I mean, her boyfriend had just cheated on her with me. Of course, she didn't know that, but it wasn't a pleasant position to be in."

There had been a few minutes of clarity while Maria cleaned the cuts on her knuckles, where she had so desperately wanted to talk to the girl - about Curly, about Rex, about everything. She didn't know what it was, maybe the fact that she was a nurse, but the warm smile she'd given her made her want to spill everything.

She was glad she hadn't. Though, thinking back on the way she kept hysterically asking for Curly, maybe Maria knew more than Lucy Jane gave her credit for. She had been so worked up and scared and worried, that she had no idea what had come out of her mouth.

"Ex-boyfriend," Curly said.

"What?"

He glanced at her, eyes soft. "I'm her ex-boyfriend. I told her about us."

"Oh."

The fact that _that_ was what he chose to comment on was perfect. He'd told her at the motel that he didn't love Maria, but knowing they had broken up was a weight off her chest. She didn't know what would happen between her and Curly - hell, she didn't know what would happen by the end of the day - but she knew he was with her then, and that was what mattered.

She watched his hands clench and unclench around the steering wheel, and wished she could help him relax. He'd helped her simply by turning up at the hospital - there was still a lot to get through, and she had been through an awful lot, but having Curly with her kept her calm enough. Or at least a lot calmer than she had been at the hospital.

"I think maybe Maria might have known about us before you told her," she said. "I wasn't in the right frame of mind, and I kept asking for you … I'm so sorry. I'm sure that's not the way you wanted her to find out you'd seen me."

Curly glanced at her. "That doesn't matter now."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. All that matters now is figuring out what to do next."

She nodded. "I think we should go through with the plan Tim came up with, even if it means getting Tim involved. I really don't think there's going to be any other way for me to get Josie back, and that's what we need to do next."

He said nothing, just continued to clench and unclench his hands.

"Right?"

The look he gave her was nervous enough to make her nervous. "Sure."

"Curly -" She stopped when he pulled sharply into a parking lot. "What are we doing here?"

"We need to figure out what to do, and we need a place to figure things out, so …"

"But … _here_?" The same hotel Rex had found them in only hours before?

"It's as good a place as any," he said, not looking at her. He continued as he grabbed Tim's gun out of the glove compartment. "I refuse to take this mess to Emmy's, and I'm pretty sure Hamilton won't think we're stupid enough to come back here. Stupidity might work in our favour here."

She might have hesitated in telling Curly she trusted him, but she hadn't been lying. The hesitation had come from confusion as to where the conversation was going, but she had caught onto his seriousness quick enough. She did trust him, with her life, and if he thought going back into that motel room would keep them safe, then so be it.

As they made their way upstairs, her mind went through the crash again. It had been one of the scariest moments of her life, seeing those headlights come straight at them, but she'd made it out with only a few cuts and bruises, and hopefully Josie was the same. She was glad now that Rex had been following them so closely - his being knocked out sure had come in handy - but she still knew nothing about Josie.

"C'mon," Curly muttered, opening the door for her.

She went inside, ignoring the dried blood on the floor, and sat on the edge of the bed. "What now?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea."

"I think we should call Tim. He can come and pick us up, take us somewhere safe until I can get in contact with Rex, then we can go through with the plan."

Curly said nothing, just stared at her with his jaw clenched.

"What is it?"

"I don't …"

She watched him, having never seem his this nervous before. "What's going on?"

"It - it's about your sister."

"What about her."

He was silent again, not looking at her and she stood up to make him face her. "Curly, where's Josie?"

He met her gaze. "She didn't make it."

"Didn't make it where?"

"Luce, she - she didn't make it out of the crash. She … died. I'm so sorry."

His words rang in her ears, and she didn't know what to say. So she said nothing.

_Now I__'__ll keep it on the down low,  
__And I__'__ll keep you around so I__'__ll know,  
__That I__'__ll never let you down,  
__I__'__ll never let you down._

* * *

**A/N:** Reviews would be great :) The next chapter is the last!


	15. Out by the Ocean

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Outsiders_ by S.E. Hinton, or "Last Rites" by The Horrible Crowes.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

_Star up the car,  
__Bury your memories._

The silence was getting to him. It hadn't been long - fifteen, twenty minutes, max - but it was an awful silence that just made him more tense than he really needed to be. The whole situation _was_ tense, but Lucy Jane going quiet on him made him nervous and antsy. He wished she would say something, do something, cry, scream, throw things, _anything_.

She did nothing. She sat on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap, and started silently at the floor. Every once in a while she would gnaw at her bottom lip or frown slightly, but that was it. She didn't look at him, she didn't fidget, she barely even blinked.

And he felt terrible. He'd said a lot of shitty things both to and about this girl over the years, but nothing as bad as telling her that her sister was dead. Hell, he hadn't ever told anyone anything that bad before, and he still felt a little sick from it.

He leaned back against the dresser behind him, and the cool metal of the gun felt good against his warm skin, made him that little bit saner, gave him that extra sense of security he needed. He wasn't sure that Hamilton wouldn't look at the motel for them - in fact, the longer they stayed there the more anxious he became - but even if he did turn up for them, Curly would be ready this time.

He'd never used anything rougher than a blade on someone, but he'd shoot Hamilton right in the head if it meant keeping Lucy Jane safe. He took another quick glance out the curtains, making sure nothing had changed in the parking lot below. He didn't know what he would do if Hamilton was standing right outside the next time he checked, but at least he'd have some kind of warning.

Pushing that thought away, he looked at Lucy Jane. He didn't know what to do. Sure, she needed to grieve for her sister, but he wasn't sure this was the best time for it. Hamilton was out there somewhere, undoubtedly searching for them, and Lucy Jane was doing nothing. She needed to be doing something. _They_ needed to be doing something.

He moved to crouch in front of her. "Luce?"

She slid to the floor and took a shuddering breath. It was improvement. He sat next to her, their backs against the bed, and waited. He'd give her a couple more minutes, then they had to do something, make some kind of decision. He knew if Tim were there the decision would be made for them, but he couldn't do that. Other than the decision to run away, almost everything had been decided for her over the last year.

He didn't need to wait more then a minute before she started speaking.

"It's my fault."

"What's your fault?"

"Everything." She sniffed. "Josie's dead, and it's all my fault."

"Luce -"

"Think about it," she said, and turned to look at him. "If I hadn't taken her from Rex's place, she'd be alive. If I hadn't left Emmy's tonight, she'd be alive. If I hadn't been driving so carelessly, she would be alive."

"You can't blame yourself."

"Of course I can."

"It wasn't your fault. Someone drove into _you_, not the other way around."

"If I hadn't been speeding -"

"And why were you speeding?"

"Because Rex was following us."

"Exactly. Luce, no one is to blame for what happened to your sister, okay? No one but Hamilton.

She began to cry softly. "She's my sister; I'm supposed to protect her."

He stayed silent a moment. He was sorry Josie was dead, sorry that Lucy Jane had lost her sister, but the memory of Josie bringing Hamilton to the motel - which resulted in Lucy Jane having a loaded fucking gun pressed to her head - was too damn fresh. Josie was older, she was supposed to protect Lucy Jane.

"You did everything you could," he finally said.

"I shouldn't have left Emmy's."

"You had good intentions when you left Emmy's, okay? You wanted to protect all of us there, and that's exactly why you took her from Hamilton, remember? To protect her."

"And look how well that worked out."

"It didn't work out," he admitted, "but not because of you. Because of Hamilton. Everything that's happened is because of him, you know that."

She was silent for a while, and he hoped she was thinking his words through. She might have been driving, she might have come to the motel tonight, and she might have really pissed Hamilton off by taking his car and his girl, but it wasn't her fault her sister had died.

"What are we going to do?"

He took her hand. "I don't know."

"Me neither."

And he really didn't. Once again, he figured the best thing to do was call Tim, but he really wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Too much had happened in the hours they had been gone, and he didn't want to explain it all to his brother. Nor did he want the lecture that was sure to follow.

He smirked to himself; if he knew Tim at all, he'd get the lecture long before he began explaining things.

But at least Tim would no what to do. Curly might not necessarily agree with whatever he thought they should do, but it would be something. It would be an idea, and there were none of those going around at the moment.

He looked at Lucy Jane as she dried her last few tears. "I'll do whatever you want, baby. I said it before, and I meant it. Whatever you wanna do, I'm onboard."

She stared at him, and he stared back, simply willing her not to tell him to go. He was onboard … so long as it meant sticking with her. He didn't think he could leave her now, even if she tried to make him.

She sighed. "You really think Rex is to blame for everything that's happened?"

"I really do."

"I don't know what I wanna do," she said. "Part of me just wants to give him to Tim and let your brother have his way with him, but … there's no guarantee that Tim will come out on top of that one."

"Tim's spent the last year inside, with nothing on his mind but getting back at Hamilton. I have no doubt he can take him."

"Yeah, but, I just don't know if that's the right thing to do. I barely even know what's right and wrong anymore, but I also don't know if letting Tim at his is what I _want_ to do. A part of me, yes, definitely. But another part just wants to forget about it all, to just be done - done with Rex, done with Tim, done with all of it."

He couldn't help the words that came out. "Done with me?"

She smiled. "I don't think I'll ever be done with you."

"Good." He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "So what do you want more? To let Tim at Hamilton, or to just forget about it all?"

"I'm not sure. But I do know that I can't forget about it here. I can't stay in Tulsa and be safe. Rex will hunt me down anyway he possibly can."

He didn't doubt that. "So we leave."

"And go where?"

"Anywhere you want."

She went silent again, and he knew she wasn't thinking about where to go. She had a vacant look in her eyes - the same vacant look she'd had after he'd told her about her sister. He said nothing, though. It hadn't been long since she'd found out her sister was dead, and he had no doubt she was still working through that.

"You're doin' pretty good," he said, already knowing he should keep his trap shut. "Considering everything."

She removed her hand from his and pushed her hair away from her face. "Fair warning: I'll probably fall apart later. Once we're on the road with Tulsa and Rex and Tim far, far behind us."

"So that's what we're doing? We're going?"

"Is that okay?"

"Baby, that's perfect."

XXXXX

Curly was in the bathroom. Lucy Jane looked at the bathroom door, not sure why she was doing this in secret. Maybe because she knew Curly would disagree, maybe because he would talk her out of it, or maybe because it was probably a really stupid idea.

She took a few deep breathes, silently reciting the number she knew by heart and had been tempted to call so many times this last year. Picking up the phone, she dialled and waited.

"Hello?" The voice on the end of the line was groggy with sleep.

"Daddy?"

Silence, and then, "Lucy Jane? Oh God, Lucy Jane, where are you? Tell me where you are and I'll come get you, okay?"

"I can't do that."

"Of course you can. Everything will be okay. You're okay, right?"

"I'm …" She trailed off, unsure how to answer that. Physically, she was okay. There were a few cuts and bruises, and she had a killer headache, but she was okay. Nothing a few aspirins wouldn't fix. But mentally and emotionally … she was a wreck. She began to cry again, knowing and hating that it would just worry her dad.

"Lucy Jane? Please, tell me where you are."

She could hear her mother in the background, calling her name and asking if she was okay. "I'm okay, really. Tell Mom I'm okay."

"You're crying."

The bathroom door opened and Curly looked shocked to see her on the phone. She looked away from him and spoke into the phone.

"I'm okay, I promise. Um, how are you?"

"Well, I'm worried. This is the first we've heard from you in over a year, and you say you're okay, but I know you were crying."

"It's just been a long day. Is Mom okay? And Harry? How's Harry?"

She could hear the confusion in his voice when he answered. "Harry's good, Lucy Jane, he's wonderful. And your mother is - she's worried, too."

"Tell her not to worry. I'm going to be fine."

"Sweetheart, if you would just tell me where you are -"

"Daddy, there's something I have to tell you." A part of her was surprised anyone had even been home when she called, let alone fast asleep. She didn't know why the police hadn't notified her family about Josie yet, but she was glad. It was awful news - the worst - and she should be the one to tell them.

"What is it, sweetheart? You can tell me anything."

She looked at Curly. He was staring at her intently, and it gave her all the courage she needed.

"There was an accident tonight. A car accident."

"A car accident?" Her mother finally went silent in the background.

"Yeah. I - I'm okay, but … Daddy, Josie died. She - she died."

There was silence on the other end, and Lucy Jane was sure her father was thinking about the daughter he hadn't seen in almost four years. Her blonde hair, her sweet smile, her big blue eyes. Lucy Jane bit her lip to keep from crying again.

"Are you sure, Lucy Jane?"

"I'm sure, Daddy."

"Josie's dead?"

She nodded, knowing her father couldn't see her, but pretty sure he wouldn't be able to hear her over her mother's wailing even if she said something. She looked at Curly, who was back at the window, and took a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy."

"It's not your fault, Lucy Jane," he said, his voice hoarse. "Whatever happened, it was an accident."

"Yeah."

"Please tell me where you are, sweetheart. I need to make sure you're okay."

"I promise I'm fine. I'm -" She paused, wondering if her next words would relax her father, or just make him worry more. "I'm with Curly. He's looking after me."

"Curly? That - that boy from high school? Is that who you've been with this whole time?"

"No, I only just saw him again yesterday, but you don't need to worry, okay? I can't tell you where I am, and I'm not coming home, but I'm safe with him. He'll keep me safe."

"Lucy -"

"I have to go," she said quickly. "I promise I'm okay, and I - I'm so sorry about Josie, Daddy, but I thought it would be best that you hear it from me rather than some policeman you don't know."

"Tell me where you are! You need money; I can give you money."

"Bye, Daddy" She hung up before her father could talk her into revealing where she was. Taking a low breath, she looked at Curly. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"Ringing them probably wasn't the best idea."

"We don't know when we're gonna be able to come back, Luce. You had to say goodbye, I get it."

She nodded. "He had a good point, though; we're gonna need money. And a lot of it."

Curly was silent for a moment, thinking. Finally, he said, "Good thing we know where there's an awful lot of money."

XXXXX

The car had been following them for fifteen minutes straight. He didn't recognise it, but it had started almost as soon as they left the motel. He muttered a curse, and pressed his back into the seat, relieved for the uncomfortable metal digging into him. His hands clenched and unclenched around the steering wheel, and glanced at Lucy Jane.

"I don't know how to tell ya this, but we're being followed."

She gave him a nervous smile. "I noticed."

"I hate to say it, but we don't have many options here. My guess is we either deal with him, or he runs us off the road. And that's if we don't run out of gas first."

"What do you think we should do?"

They had to take a chance. There was a very slim possibility that it wasn't Hamilton behind them, and because of that chance, he had to do something other than just keep driving around. The sun would be up soon, and that might make things safer for them, but it was just putting off the inevitable.

"Maybe it's not even him," he said.

"Maybe."

"Maria said he got knocked out when he rear-ended you," he said. "So maybe he doesn't have his gun on him. I doubt the paramedics would've grabbed it for him."

"I hope you're right."

He reached over and smoothed a hand over her hair. "I don't think we have much of a choice."

"You do. You don't have to do this. You can just drop me off somewhere and I'll deal with -"

"Not gonna happen."

"Curly -"

"No." And to end the conversation, he took a sharp turn toward the lake.

He didn't think about what was coming, didn't think about how Lucy Jane called her family but he never called his, didn't even think about what a huge mistake he was probably making. All he thought about were the occasional conversations with Tim over the years about how to shoot a gun.

He also didn't think about how he wished Tim was there.

The car kept following them, and he had no doubt that it was Hamilton. The guy had stopped pretending he wasn't following them miles back, and there was no one else who would bother. His boys, maybe, but Curly doubted it. Then again, for all they knew, the car was full of Hamilton _and_ his boys.

His stomach turned to ice and his skin broke out in goose pimples. His hands clenched again, and he refused to look down the side road that would take him to the place he and Lucy Jane had spent so many hours. He continued on, speeding up as they got closer to Hamilton's hidden car, and the car behind them fell back a little. He silently thanked who ever was listening that he knew the road well enough.

And then there was nowhere else to go.

The blue Corvette was in front of them and they were out of options.

"I'm so sorry," Lucy Jane said, climbing to her knees to face him. "I've gotten you into such a mess, and I'm so sorry."

He kissed her, quick and hard. "Whatever happens, just remember I never stopped loving you, okay?"

Her eyes watered and she smiled. "Back at ya."

He smirked, and they climbed out of the car just as the car behind them caught up. It stopped, and Hamilton tumbled out, looking worse than Curly could have imagined. There was no doubt he was alone, but still doubt as to whether he was armed. There was no knife or gun in his hand as he stumbled toward them, but that didn't mean anything.

"You don't know what you've done!" he cried, staring at Lucy Jane.

"I haven't done anything."

"Your sister's dead. Did you know that, Little Lucy? Did you know that she died in that fucking car crash you caused?"

"It - it was an accident."

"I don't give a shit what it was," he screamed. "You have to pay."

"Leave her the fuck alone," Curly said.

Hamilton barely glanced at him. He gave a crazed laugh and walked toward them. "Your sister. Your sweet, sweet sister. She was such a good girl, so kind and pliant, and now she's dead. Dead, dead, _dead_, Lucy Jane! Don't you get it?"

"Of course I get it! Just stop saying it."

"You don't understand," he said, his voice a low wail. "You just don't understand."

Curly stared at him, wondering what the hell was going on, and if this was just some ploy to catch them off guard. He stepped forward, making sure Lucy Jane was behind him.

"Look, your car's here. How about you just take it and go, huh? Just take it and -"

"I don't give a fuck about the car, Shepard."

Moving quicker than Curly would have expected given the state he was in, Hamilton grabbed him by the front of his T-shirt and threw him to the side. He landed hard on his back, cursing aloud when his head hit the hard ground beneath him.

"Fuck." Things got a little dizzy for a moment, and by the time he sat up, Hamilton was towering over Lucy Jane, hands wrapped tight around her arms.

"I loved her," he yelled in her face. "I loved her, and you killed her."

"You didn't love her! You did nothing but treat her like shit. You were awful to her -"

"I loved her," he interrupted. "Why the fuck do you think you got away with so much shit, huh? You think I left you alone because I liked you? Maybe had a soft spot for you? Think again, kiddo. I left you alone because your sister begged me to."

"She … you - you loved her." Lucy Jane's eyes were huge, and it looked like she actually believed him. Curly staggered to his feet, one hand on his head, the other reaching for the gun.

"Damn right I did. And you went and got her killed. Now she's dead, I ain't gotta keep any kind of promise about not hurting you." He chuckled. "Girl, I am gonna enjoy killing you."

"Go to hell -" She stopped mid-sentence when he slapped her across the face.

Curly forgot about the gun. It was in his hand, the cool metal slipping against his sweaty skin, but it was the last thing on his mind as he charged Hamilton. He tackled him to the ground, fighting for control. It was the second time that night that he had jumped this guy, and while Hamilton was still smaller and stupider than him, he was also still tougher and meaner. The fact that the girl he claimed to love had just died seemed to only make him angrier, not weaker.

"I'm gonna kill you, Lucy Jane," he yelled, all the while rolling on the dirty ground with Curly. "You're gonna be dead by sunrise."

Curly could hear Lucy Jane screaming in the background, but her words disappeared when Hamilton's hand grasped his own, and suddenly they weren't just fighting for control. They were fighting for the gun.

Curses flew through his head, and he gripped the gun as tight as he could, moving both hands to clench around the metal, trying to pry Hamilton's hand away. He kicked, he scratched, he did everything he could to get one up on Hamilton. Then a shot rang out, and everything went still. There was a ringing in his ears, a pressure on his chest, and his hands were slick with sweat, but there was no movement or sound.

A voice cut through it all.

"Curly?"

His head flew up. "Tim?"

"Stand up, kid. You're okay."

He shoved at the weight on top of him and stood, one hand still gripping the gun, the other going to his damp shirt. He looked down. His shirt wasn't damp - it was soaked with blood.

"Oh, shit."

"Curly? Hey, look at me." Tim held his hand out when he looked at him. "Give me the gun."

He gave Tim the gun, handing it over without a second thought. He didn't want it anymore. Tim could take it and keep it as far as he was concerned. He watched Tim wipe the gun with his T-shirt, and place it on the ground. Then he looked at Hamilton, not missing the way he wasn't breathing.

"Curly?"

He looked back at Tim. "Yeah?"

"Swap T-shirts with me."

"Swap T-shirts?"

"Yeah."

"Uh, okay."

His head was pounding, his hands were bloody, and he couldn't think straight as he peeled the wet T-shirt from his body. Tim took the shirt and gave him his own as Lucy Jane appeared behind Tim, her hands at her mouth, staring silently. He moved his gaze back to Tim.

"When did you get here?" he asked, sliding the clean T-shirt over his head.

"Probably a couple of seconds after you threw yourself at this fucker. Christ, kid, I searched every where for ya. Your place, Buck's, even went to the hospital. Maria said you'd been and gone." He looked at Lucy Jane. "Told me about your sister. Sorry, kid."

She just nodded, eyes wide.

"Don't know why I didn't think to come here first. Shit."

"Yeah. Shit." Curly licked his dry lips. "Uh, now what?"

Tim stared at him a long moment before answering. "Now, you leave."

"Huh?"

"Just go, Curly. Take some cash from this damn car, and fucking leave. The both of you -"

"No."

"Yes."

He pulled at the clean T-shirt he was now wearing, Tim's actions beginning to make sense. "Tim, no. I'm not letting ya do this."

"You don't have a fucking choice in the matter."

"But, Tim -"

He gripped Curly by the shoulders and looked at him more honestly than he had in years. "Curly, shit. All I've wanted for the last two years is that fucker dead. And he is, thanks to you. I owe you this."

"Tim -"

"What do you want?" he asked. "Tell me what you've wanted more than anything these last two years."

Curly told him, the words spilling out without thought, and he hated the way his voice shook as he did. "Lucy Jane."

Lucy Jane let out a sob from behind Tim and ran to take Curly's hand.

"Then take her," Tim said. "Take her and go."

"I can't let you do this."

Tim grinned. "Sure ya can. And you're gonna. Just don't tell a soul about what really happened here tonight." He paused. "Except Shelley. Tell Shelley I kept my promise, okay?"

Curly nodded, gritting his teeth against the lump forming in the back of his throat. Tim looked at Lucy Jane.

"You better look after him."

"I will," she promised, before reaching up to hug him. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"I still want my two grand," he said, awkwardly hugging her back.

"You'll get it."

"With interest."

"With interest," she agreed, pulling back. She quickly ran to grab some money from Hamilton's hidden car.

Curly ran a hand through his hair. "Tim, I don't think you should be doing this."

"Don't think," Tim said, and pulled him into a brotherly hug. "Just do as I say. I'll make up some story about the two of you running away after the car accident. All you need to do is go."

Curly nodded, and pulled back as Lucy Jane made her way back to them. Then, with one last nod from Tim, they headed for the car.

XXXXX

Jim Morrison was dead. The guy on the radio had said so, but after the initial statement, Lucy Jane could only focus on a few words; Paris, only twenty-seven years old, suspected drug overdose …

Suspected drug overdose. Despite the crap Rex had put Josie through over the last two years, Lucy Jane had always figured it would be the drugs that killed her sister. Drugs given to her by Rex, sure, but still the drugs primarily. Not some stupid car accident that left Josie dead and Lucy Jane with nothing but a few cuts and bruises.

She had always loved The Doors, and since that first ride in Curly's car, had always associated them with him - the way he teased her for liking them, the way he then bought her their record for her birthday, and the way he held her when they danced to one of their songs at the graduation party … in her mind and heart Curly and The Doors went hand in hand.

She looked at Curly, sitting next to her in the car, staring aimlessly out the passenger window. He had climbed into the driver's seat when they first left Tim, but his hands had been shaking too much for him to even get the key in the ignition. Lucy Jane had clutched his hand, arranged for them to switch seats, then started to drive.

Where they were going, she didn't know. She knew what they were leaving behind, though; Josie's funeral, her parents' grief … Tim and the mess he was cleaning up for them. She couldn't believe what he had done for them, done for Curly. They owed him, and, one day, she absolutely intended to pay, in any damn way she could.

"Luce," Curly said, voice rough.

She gave him a shaky smile. "You okay?"

He sat up straighter in the seat. "Let me drop you off somewhere."

"No."

"Lucy Jane -"

"No."

"You can get out of this, Luce, get out of this fucking mess once and for all."

"That's exactly what we're doing. We're getting out of this mess, the both of us."

"Thanks to Tim."

She grinned. "Who would've thought, huh?" She paused, thinking through her next words. "I'm coming with you, Curly. God, you saved my life tonight. Twice. And you told Tim - you told him all you had wanted was me … and, well, now that Josie can't be hurt anymore, all I want is you, so I'm coming with you."

Curly reached over and took her hand. "Okay."

"Okay."

He squeezed her hand. "Sucks about Jim Morrison, huh?"

She laughed, because, really, in the grander scheme of her life, Jim Morrison's death had absolutely no real affect on her. "Yeah," she said, "it sucks."

Curly pulled down the sun visor and handed her a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment. "Sun's coming up; time to get the hell outta Dodge, baby."

She put the sunglasses on - probably Maria's sunglasses, but she didn't care anymore - and pulled down her own visor. The road was mostly empty, and she changed gears, speeding up as they hit the highway. Thoughts of where they were going, what they were going to do, how they would survive flitted around in her mind for a moment, but then the guy on the radio finally stopped talking, and the opening notes to "The End" came through the car speakers.

And none of it mattered, not when Curly reached forward to turn up the radio and then took her hand in his again.

_Call on your lovers,  
__Speaking slowly and heavy._

**THE END**

* * *

**A/N:** What? An almost-happy ending for the main characters? Shocking, right? Reviews would be fantastic! As usual, a million thanks to Sam for about a million reasons, and also thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Hope you guys liked it!


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